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http://www.archive.org/details/divineoriginauthOOneil 


DIVINE  ORIGIN  AND  AUTHORITY 


CHRISTIAN  RELIGION, 


IN  A  CONNECTED  SERIES  OF  FAMILIAR  DISCOURSES,  GIVING 

A  CONCISE  VIEW  pF  THE  HISTORICAL  ARGUMENT 

FOR  THE  TRUTH  OF  THE  BIBLE. 


WILLIAM*NEILL,  D.  D. 


;-  Be  ready,  always,  to  give  an  answer  to  every  one  that  asketh  you 
a  reason  of  the  hope  that  is  in  you,  with  meekness  and  fear." 

i;  We  have  not  followed  cunningly  devised  fables." 

Peter,  the  Apostle. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

WILLIAM  S.  YOUNG,  50  N.  SIXTH  STREET. 

SMITH  &  ENGLISH,  36  N.  SIXTH  ST. 

1854. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  18-54, 
BY  WILLIAM  S.'  YOUNG, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United 
States,  in  and  for  the  Eastern  District  of  Pennsylvania. 


TO  THE 


YOUNG  MEN'S 

CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION, 


OF  PHILADELPHIA, 


This  little  volume  is  respectfully  dedicated,  as  a 
token  of  the  author's  high  appreciation  of  the  be- 
nevolent design  of  that  institution.  Young  men 
everywhere,  particularly  in  cities,  are  exposed  to 
temptations  and  dangers  that  prove,  in  many  in- 
stances, disastrous  to  their  best  interests.  A  little 
friendly  and  seasonable  attention,  therefore,  may, 
through  a  divine  blessing,  be  the  means  of  rescuing 
them  from  the  unsuspected  snares  of  death,  and 
of  securing  to  them  success  and  happiness  in  this 
life,  and  glory,  honour  and  immortality  in  the  life 
to  come.     Honest  efforts  in  the  cause  of  truth  and 


IV  DEDICATION. 

humanity,  are  never  in  vain  in  the  Lord.  The  so- 
cial principles  of  our  nature,  under  the  sway  and 
.sanction  of  religion,  are  of  prodigious  potency.  The 
redeeming  influence  of  the  gospel  is  divine  and  in- 
finite:— Let  none,  therefore,  be  weary  in  well- 
doing; for  the  promise  is  sure  and  steadfast;  IN 

DUE  SEASON  YE  SHALL  REAP,  IF  YE  FAINT  NOT. 
Philadelphia,  September  1st,  1854. 


TfiKOLQG" 

^rrfntnrq  it  nil  IpnlngHir, 


What!  Another  work  on  the  Evidences  o* 
Christianity?  Has  not  the  subject  been  long,  and 
largely,  and  lucidly  discussed  by  men  of  note  and 
acknowledged  ability?  Yes;  but  still  there  are 
skeptics,  and  doubting  Christians.  Let  there  be 
variety.  There  is  some  truth  in  the  saying,  that 
"The  more  writers,  the  more  readers."  We  have 
a  diversity  of  gifts,  to  suit  our  various  tastes  and 
circumstances.  Besides,  the  subject  is  momentous, 
— it  cannot  be  exhausted.  Old  arguments  can  be 
presented  in  new  forms,  without  end;  and  be 
adapted  to  different  capacities.  The  writer  of  this 
manual  has  had  in  view  a  numerous  class  of  per- 
sons, that  cannot  command  time  to  read  extensively 
on  any  subject : — Young  men  in   business,  and 


VI  PREFACE. 

youth  of  both  sexes  in  schools,  academies,  and  Bi- 
ble classes,  where  compends  of  this  kind  should 
have  a  prominent  place.  Colporteurs,  and  other 
distributors  of  religious  tracts,  it  is  hoped,  will  find 
this  little  book  suitable  for  distribution,  where 
books  of  a  serious  character  are  scarce.  To  all  such 
co-workers  in  the  Lord's  vineyard  it  is  respectfully 
commended.  May  divine  favour  attend  it,  and 
make  it  a  blessing  to  many ! 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


LECTURE  I. 


-•■ 


PRELIMINARY    CONSIDERATIONS    ON    THE     NECESSITY     AND 
DESIRABLENESS  OF  DIVINE  REVELATION. 

We  propose  to  lay  before  our  readers  a 
condensed  view  of  the  grounds  upon  which 
the  scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ments are  regarded  as  a  revelation  from  Ood ; 
or,  in  other  words,  to  exhibit  briefly,  and  in 
a  connected  form,  the  chief  points  of  evidence 
in  favour  of  the  divine  origin  and  supreme 
authority  of  the  Christian  religion. 

The  subject,  as  will  be  readily  conceded, 
is  of  vast  importance,  not  only  to  our  own 
peace  and  happiness,  but  to  the  best  interests 
of  mankind.  Let  us,  therefore,  attend  to  it, 
divested  as  much  as  possible  of  prejudice — 
with  minds  open  to  conviction,  and  with  a 
sincere  desire  to  know  the  truth,  and  a  firm 
determination  to  bow  to  its  decisions,  and 
carry  out  its  principles  at  all  hazards.  In 
2 


*6  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

treating  of  the  evidences  of  revealed  reli- 
gion, we  of  course  take  for  granted  the  ex- 
istence and  perfections  of  God ;  for  when  a 
supposed  communication  from  him  is  the  sub- 
ject in  question,  his  being  and  essential  attri- 
butes are  necessarily  pre-supposed.  Besides, 
the  being,  wisdom,  and  power  of  God  are 
primary  truths  in  religion,  which  are  written 
as  in  letters  of  light  on  the  face  of  the  visi- 
ble creation.  The  Creator  and  Lord  of  the 
universe  has  had,  and  now  has,  every  where 
his  silent  but  impressive  witnesses:  "The 
heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God,  and  the 
-firmament  showeth  his  handy-work:  day  unto 
day  uttereth  speech,  and  night  unto  night 
showeth  knowledge  There  is  no  speech  or 
language  where  their  voice  is  not  heard."' 

We  ought,  perhaps,  to  remark  here,  that, 
although  there  are  some  very  important  reli- 
gious truths  common  to  the  book  of  Xature, 
and  the  inspired  volume;  yet,  in  regard  to 
many  subjects  of  the  deepest  interest  td  us 
in  our  fallen,  sinful  state,  we  can  get  no  ade- 
quate and  satisfactory  information  from  the 
former,  but  are  wholly  indebted  (as  we  shall 
have  occasion  to  show  more  at  large  in  the 
progress  of  these  Lectures)  to  the  announce- 


LECTURE  I.  / 

merits  and  assurances  which  we  find  in  the 
Bible.  Natural  religion  is  good,  so  far  as  it 
goes.  It  perhaps  might  have  been  sufficient 
for  man  in  his  primitive,  unfallen  state;  but 
to  man  as  he  now  is,  with  his  mind  beclouded 
and  his  heart  alienated  from  the  source  of 
bliss,  the  religion  of  Nature  is  insufficient  to 
meet  and  relieve  his  necessities.  It  announces 
to  him  no  remedy,  no  ransom,  no  forgiveness, 
no  heaven.  To  ascertain,  therefore,  the  au- 
thenticity, the  credibility,  and  the  divine  au- 
thority of  this  latter  book,  which  professes  to 
bring  us  good  tidings  of  great  joy,  from  the 
very  bosom  of  truth  and  love,  and  through 
the  interposition  of  a  Mediator,  fitted  by  the 
constitution  of  his  person  to  guard  the  rights 
of  God,  and  at  the  same  time  provide  for  our 
necessities,  will  surely  be  regarded  as  a  be- 
nevolent undertaking,  even  if  it  should  not 
be  accomplished  to  the  satisfaction  of  all 
minds. 

If  any  persons  question  the  utility  of  such 
discussions  as  we  are  now  entering  upon,  as 
if  they  were  calculated  to  raise  doubts  where 
they  did  not  before  exist,  or  to  diminish  that 
reverence  for  the  sacred  scriptures  in  which 
we  have  been  educated,  and  which  ought  to 


S  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

be  cherished,  we  would  say,  in  reference  to 
the  suggestion,  that  true  religion — the  reli- 
gion of  the  Bible — is  founded  in  evidence; 
and  the  more  fully  that  evidence  is  brought 
out  and  perceived,  the  stronger,  the  more  in- 
telligent, the  more  comfortable,  and  the  more 
productive  of  good  fruits,  will  be  our  faith  in 
the  doctrines  of  the  gospel.  We  do  not  hold 
to  the  maxim  that  "Ignorance  is  the  mother 
of  devotion."  The  truth  has  nothing  to  fear 
from  discussion.  She  courts  the  investiga- 
tion of  her  claims.  Our  blessed  gospel  has 
sustained  unscathed  and  triumphant  the  scru- 
tiny of  ages.  Besides,  we  learn  from  high 
authority  that  we  should  "be  always  ready 
to  give  a  reason  of  the  hope  that  is  in  us" — 
not  indeed  in  the  spirit  of  debate  and  boast- 
ing, but  with  meekness  and  fear,  and  from  a 
benevolent  desire  that  others  may  embrace 
the  truth,  and  participate  in  its  blessings. 

As  to  doubts,  they  do  and  will  spring  up  at 
times  in  every  mind  that  thinks  at  all  on  the 
subject  of  religion.  They  come  occasionally 
into  pious  minds,  as  "fiery  darts  from  the 
wicked  one."  Skeptical  surmises  and  insinu- 
ations are  afloat  in  a  great  variety  of  forms; 
so  that  you  cannot  escape  them  if  you  would. 


LECTURE  I.  9 

You  find  them  inwrought  into  the  literature 
of  every  country — in  newspapers,  books,  re- 
views, and  public  lectures.  You  hear  them 
whispered  or  proclaimed  in  the  fashionable  as- 
sembly, on  exchange,  in  the  schools  of  science- 
in  the  halls  of  legislation— ^indeed,  in  all  your 
ordinary  intercourse  with  men.  And  how 
shall  we  best  prepare  to  meet  these  annoying 
assaults  upon  our  religious  hope?  Not  by 
closing  our  eyes  and  ears  against  them,  but 
by  a  pertinent  reference  to  the  cloud  of  wit- 
nesses— the  numerous  testimonies  that  concur 
in  demonstrating  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the 
Son  of  God,  and  the  Saviour — the  only  Sa- 
viour of  the  world.  I  know,  indeed,  that  there 
is  an  internal  evidence — the  witness  of  the 
Spirit  with  our  spirits,  which,  with  a  just  sense 
of  our  guilt  and  weakness,  and  a  clear  per- 
ception of  the  exact  adaptedness  of  the  pro- 
visions of  gospel  grace  to  our  wants  and  mi- 
series, may  be  quite  satisfactory  to  the  expe- 
rienced Christian;  but  to  the  great  majority 
of  non-professors,  who  have  not  felt  the  re- 
newing power  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  exter- 
nal evidence,  or  historical  argument  for  the 
truth  of  the  Bible,  is  their  best  protection 
from  the  practical  atheism  of  the  world,  and 


10  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

the  seductive  influence  of  a  false  philosophy. 
At  a  time,  too,  when  so  much  pains  is  taken 
to  divorce  religion  from  the  primary  educa- 
tion of  the  youth  of  our  country,  shall  we  not 
endeavour  to  show  them  the  grounds  upon 
which  we  wish  them  to  be  the  disciples  of 
Christ?  Will  it  not  be  safer  for  them  to 
meet  the  objections  to  religion  in  the  pre- 
sence of  the  answers  to  them,  than  to  en- 
counter the  poison  in  the  absence  of  the  an- 
tidote? 

We  live  in  an  inquiring  and  adventurous 
age.  Every  subject,  in  any  way  connected 
with  human  happiness,  is  freely  and  publicly 
discussed.  No  subject  is  deemed  too  sacred 
to  be  looked  into,  as  to  its  facts,  and  results, 
and  bearings  upon  the  interests  of  mankind. 
The  arts  and  sciences,  history,  and  secular 
literature,  have  their  professors  and  public 
lecturers;  and  why  should  not  Christians  in- 
stitute and  sustain  lectures  on  the  stupendous 
facts  and  distinguished  personages  that  form 
so  large  a  share  of  the  subject-matter  of  the 
gospel  narrative?  If  Jesus  of  Nazareth  has 
indeed  done  for  the  world  what  his  historians 
declare,  and  his  followers  believe ;  if  he  has 
come  the  accredited  ambassador  of  Heaven ; 


LECTURE  I.  11 

if  he  has  answered  the  great  end  of  the  types, 
and  sacrifices,  and  prophecies  of  ancient  times; 
if  he  has  fulfilled  all  righteousness,  and 
opened  a  fountain  for  the  moral  cleansing  of 
our  polluted  race ;  if  he  has  set  up  a  kingdom 
which  is  to  prevail  in  spite  of  all  opposition : 
in  a  word,  if,  as  his  apostles  affirm,  he  is  our 
only  Hope  and  final  Judge,  we  are  most  ex- 
ceedingly concerned  to  know  it,  and  acknow- 
ledge his  claims,  without  wavering  or  any  at- 
tempt at  compromise.  But  how  can  we  know 
these  things  without  looking  at  his  creden- 
tials, examining  his  witnesses,  marking  his 
spirit,  his  acts,  and  the  effects  of  his  embassy? 
But,  you  say,  We  have  ministers  of  the  gos- 
pel to  expound  and  apply  its  truths.  True; 
and  very  "beautiful  upon  the  mountains  are 
the  feet  of  them  that  bring  good  tidings  and 
publish  peace."  But  your  ministers,  as  in 
duty  bound,  draw  their  messages  from  the 
Bible,  as  their  book  of  instructions;  and  they 
would  misapply  their  energies  and  pervert 
their  office,  were  they  to  spend  much  of  their 
time  about  the  foundations  and  outworks  of 
the  Christian  system.  Their  main  object  is, 
and  should  be,  to  win  souls  to  Christ,  by  ma- 
nifestation of  his  truth  and  grace.     But  why 


12  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

are  not  the  glad  tidings,  which  thej  bring, 
more  generally  and  joyfully  embraced?  May 
it  not  be  owing,  in  some  measure  at  least,  to 
the  fact  that  many  of  their  hearers  are  in 
doubt  in  regard  to  the  divine  origin  of  our 
book — whether  it  be,  indeed,  from  God,  and 
by  his  inspiration  and  authority?  There  is 
room,  then,  for  the  evidences  of  revealed  re- 
ligion in  Christian  education.  They  are  not 
only  auxiliary  to  the  ministry,  but  fundamen- 
tal to  its  grand  and  godlike  design.  Convince 
men's  understandings  that  God  has  spoken  by 
his  Son  from  heaven — that  miracles  have  been 
wrought  and  prophecies  fulfilled,  in  attesta- 
tion of  the  truth  of  our  gospel — and,  so  far 
as  means  are  concerned,  you  prepare  the  way 
of  the  Lord  to  their  hearts.  Mere  evidence 
has  no  power  to  convert  sinners  unto  God; 
but  it  keeps  conscience  awake,  and  in  many 
instances  holds  men  back  from  embracing  de- 
structive error,  inclines  them  to  search  the 
scriptures,  and  inquire  for  the  way  of  life; 
and  while  the  eye  rests  on  the  Saviour's  as- 
surance, "  I  am  the  way,"  how  often  is  the 
same  blissful  truth,  re-echoed  in  a  still,  small 
voice,  from  the  excellent  glory,  "  This  is  the 
way;  walk  ye  in  it" — made  effectual  to  win 
the  heart  and  save  the  soul ! 


LECTURE  I.  13 

Our  next  remark  is,  (for  you  see  our  intro- 
ductory is  to  be  composed  of  preliminaries  to 
the  main  question,)  that  a  revelation  from 
God  has  been  expected  and  desired  in  all  ages 
of  the  world.  Now  this  expectation  is  rea- 
sonable, and  the  desire  natural.  We  are  re- 
ligious beings;  i.  e.,  we  were  made  for  reli- 
gion, and  religion  was  designed  for  us,  as  es- 
sential to  the  consummation  of  our  happiness, 
and  to  secure  the  chief  end  of  our  creation. 
When  we  say  that  man  is  a  religious  creature, 
we  mean  that  he  was  originally  endued  with 
the  moral  image  of  God,  and  favoured  with 
divine  communications,  so  that  he  would  in- 
stinctively adore  the  Creator,  and  regard  him 
as  his  chief  good.  This  we  can  say  in  the 
light  of  reason,  without  going  to  the  Bible 
for  the  information;  for  a  holy  Creator  could 
not  produce  an  unholy  creature,  and  would 
not  withhold  what  he  knew  to  be  necessary 
to  its  well-being.  This  is  in  accordance  with 
the  doctrine  of  scripture  on  the  subject. — 
And  in  the  mournful  wreck  of  our  nature,  by 
our  apostacy  from  God,  we  did  not  lose  our 
religious  susceptibility;  we  are  still  capable 
of  being  restored  to  divine  favour  and  fel- 
lowship.    We  still  feel  disposed  to  adore  and 


14  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

confide  in  something  above  and  beyond  our- 
selves.    We  are  conscious  of  weakness  and 
exposure,  and  look  about  for  something  strong 
and  enduring  to  lean  upon.     All  men  have 
some  sense  of  religion  and  moral  obligation, 
however  much  it  needs  to  be  instructed  and 
strengthened.     This  is  a  distinctive  charac- 
teristic of  mankind — distinctive,  we  mean,  in 
reference  to  the  various  orders  of  living  crea- 
tures that  inhabit  our  world.     Other  animals 
have  sagacity,  docility,  and  something  like 
reason;  but  they  have  no  conscience:  they 
know  no  difference  between  right  and  wrong; 
they  offer  no  homage  or  praise  to  the  Crea- 
tor except  that  which  is  passive  and  involun- 
tary, by  exhibiting  specimens  of  his  wisdom 
and  munificence  in  making  them  what  they 
are.     And  as  to  their  capability  of  improve- 
ment, it  is  quite  limited :  you  soon  get  to  the 
end  of  all  that  you  can  teach  them.     They 
make  no  new  discoveries — their  habits  are 
unchangeable.     They  wear  the  style  of  dress, 
build  their  nests,  get  their  living,  and  defend 
themselves  now  just  as  the  generations  before 
them  did;  whereas,  to  man's  capacity  for  in- 
vention and  improvement,  we  can  assign  no 
limits.     And,  by  the  appropriate  appliances, 


LECTURE  I.  15 

he  is  improvable  in  his  religious  and  moral 
qualities,  as  well  as  in  his  genius  and  intel- 
lect. Witness  the  superiority  of  the  devout 
and  intelligent  Christian  to  the  roaming,  un- 
tutored savage.  Now  from  these  and  the  like 
considerations,  we  infer — and  may  we  not  in- 
fer, independent  of  what  we  learn  from  the 
sacred  scriptures? — that  God,  the  fountain 
of  knowledge  and  goodness,  will  make  such 
communications  to  our  race,  as  are  needful  in 
our  circumstances,  to  enable  us  to  fulfil  our 
duty  to  him  and  to  one  another,  and  thus  at- 
tain to  the  high  end  and  design  of  our  being? 
It  is  reasonable,  then,  to  believe  that  a  reve- 
lation has  been  made. 

But  is  it  necessary?  Would  not  man  be 
able,  by  the  efforts  of  his  own  reason  and  re- 
flection, to  find  out  enough  of  his  duty  to  God 
and  his  fellow-men  to  answer  all  practical 
purposes?  To  this  we  have  only  to  remark, 
at  present,  that  the  experiment  has  been  made ; 
and  however  we  may  conjecture  about  what 
man  might  do,  if  he  would,  there  is  no  good 
sense  in  resisting  the  testimony  of  experience. 
The  Baconian  philosophy — the  philosophy  of 
induction  from  observation  and  facts — is  bet- 
ter than  all  theory.     Now  let  us  see  how  it  is 


16  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

and  how  it  has  always  been  in  the  absence  of 
the  light  of  divine  revelation.  What  is  the 
history  of  religion  in  the  pagan  nations,  from 
the  earliest  times,  but  the  history  of  idolatry 
— idolatry  multiform,  stupid,  debasing,  and 
impure?  Not  only  the  heavenly  bodies,  as 
they  showed  forth  the  Creator's  glory  by  their 
movements  and  splendour,  were  worshipped, 
but  deceased  men — heroes  and  warriors — 
thieves  and  strumpets — evil  passions  and  evil 
spirits — yea,  rivers  and  reptiles:  and  that, 
too,  not  only  among  the  most  rude  and  uncul- 
tivated tribes,  but  in  Greece  and  Rome,  and 
in  the  land  of  pyramids.  All  this  was  ut- 
terly aside  from  men's  duty  to  the  living  God ; 
and  it  clearly  demonstrates  one  of  two  things 
— either  that  mankind  had  no  right  concep- 
tions of  the  only  proper  object  of  worship, 
or  that  they  did  not  like  tb  retain  him  in  their 
thoughts.  In  either  case,  who  does  not  see 
how  exceedingly  they  needed  divine  instruc- 
tion? Of  the  principles  of  morality  there  was 
gross  ignorance.  Selfishness,  revenge,  fraud, 
and  inhumanity  prevailed  to  a  shocking  de- 
gree. A  man  might  steal,  if  he  could  do  it 
adroitly  and  elude  detection.  The  marriage 
relation  was  scarcely  recognized,  and  its  du- 


LECTURE  I.  17 

ties  were  generally  neglected.  Concubinage 
was  common.  Women  were  slaves,  and  chil- 
dren might  be  put  to  death  whenever  it  was 
deemed  inconvenient  or  unprofitable  to  raise 
them.  There  were  no  asylums  for  the  poor, 
and  the  insane  were  treated  as  mad-dogs. — 
All  government  was  despotism,  and  the  only 
liberty  licentiousness.  Of  man  himself,  in 
his  origin  and  destiny,  there  was  no  satisfy- 
ing knowledge.  The  immortality  of  the  soul 
and  a  future  state  of  retribution  were  re- 
garded as  fit  subjects  for  speculation,  but  of 
no  controlling  influence  or  practical  use.  Of 
sin  and  its  forgiveness,  their  notions  were 
vas;ue  and  visionary.  Under  a  consciousness 
of  ill-desert,  they  felt  that  sacrifices  were 
necessary  to  appease  the  gods ;  and  not  only 
inferior  animals,  but  human  victims,  in  nu- 
merous instances,  bled  on  their  altars.  These 
and  the  like  facts  impelled  some  of  the  wisest 
of  the  ancients  to  acknowledge  that  there  were 
no  human  means  of  reforming  the  world,  and 
constrained  them  to  express  an  earnest  desire 
and  hope  that  the  Supreme  God  would  shed 
down  light  from  heaven,  to  disperse  the  clouds 
in  which  they  felt  themselves  enveloped  on 
the  most  momentous  subjects.  We  give  you 
3 


18  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

a  specimen  or  two  from  their  well-authenti- 
cated sayings.  Thus  Cicero,  the  distinguished 
orator,  and  perhaps  the  wisest  moralist  of  an- 
cient Rome :  "  Utinam  tarn  facile  vera  inve- 
nire  possim,  quam  falsa  convincere  I" — ("  Oh ! 
that  I  could  discover  truth  with  the  same 
ease  that  I  can  detect  error!")     And  in  an- 
other place,  on  the  weakness  of  man,  he  says, 
"  Nemo  vir  magnus,  sine  aliquo  afflatu  divino 
unquam  fuit;"  i.  e.,  "  Xo  man  was  ever  truly 
great  without  some  divine  influence."     And 
Plato,  the  disciple  of  Socrates,  and  the  wisest 
philosopher  of  Greece,  concludes  an  essay  on 
prayer  in  terms  to  this  amount:  "We  cannot 
of  ourselves  know  what  petition  will  be  plea- 
sing to  God,  or  what  worship  we  should  pay 
him :  it  is  necessary,  therefore,  that  a  Law- 
giver be  sent  from  heaven  to  instruct  us;  and 
such  a  one,"  he  adds,  "I  do  expect;  and  Oh, 
how  greatly  I  do  desire  to  see  that  Teacher, 
and  to  know  who  he  is!"     He  goes  further, 
in  another  of  his  works,  and  affirms  that  the 
desired  Lawgiver  must  be  more  than  man; 
"for,"  says  he,  "as  every  nature  is  governed 
by  some  superior  nature,  as  birds  and  beasts 
by  man,  so  he  who  is  to  teach  man  what  man 
could  not  know  by  his  own  nature,  must  be 


LECTURE  I.  19 

of  a  nature  superior  to  man;  i.  e.,  of  a  divine 
nature.7'  Thus  we  have  strong  presumption 
in  favour  of  Divine  Revelation,  and  its  rea- 
sonableness, necessity,  and  desirableness. 

That  God  can,  if  he  see  fit,  reveal  him- 
self, and  make  known  his  counsels  to  us  in  a 
way  more  effective,  and  more  adapted  to  our 
wants,  than  he  has  done  in  the  visible  crea- 
tion around  us,  is  what  cannot  be  denied, 
without  impeaching  his  power,  or  virtually 
denvino:  his  existence.  Now  there  are  two 
modes  in  which  this  may  be  done.  He  may 
either  address  his  communications  to  each 
individual  of  the  race  in  succession;  or  he 
may  select  a  few  as  his  ministering  agents, 
and  furnish  them  with  the  requisite  qualifi- 
cations and  credentials  to  make  known  his 
will  to  their  fellow  men;  not  only  to  the  ge- 
neration for  the  time  being,  but  to  all  suc- 
ceeding generations,  with  such  evidence  as 
shall  be  satisfactory  to  unbiassed  and  honestly 
inquiring  minds.  This  latter  is  the  method 
which  has  been  adopted,  according  to  the 
book  which  we  are  going  to  examine:  for 
you  will  bear  in  mind  that  we  have  to  do 
here  with  recorded  facts  and  documentary 
evidence, — written    testimony.      We    shall 


20  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

have  but  little  to  say  of  opinion,  theory,  or 
hypothesis.  Here  is  a  book — a  wonderful 
volume, — called  The  Book,  by  way  of  emi- 
nence,— not  large  in  size,  though  of  vast 
scope  and  high  pretensions, — not  the  produc- 
tion of  one  writer,  but  of  some  twenty-eight 
or  thirty, — not  of  one  country,  or  of  one  age, 
but  of  various  countries,  and  extending 
through  a  period  of  at  least  fifteen  hundred 
years.  This  book,  we  should  also  observe, 
is  not  in  the  form  of  a  dissertation  on  the 
general  subject  of  religion,  but  miscellaneous, 
composed  of  sixty-six  distinct  pieces,  in  di- 
verse sorts  of  style,  prose  and  poetry,  doc- 
trinal, historical  and  prophetic;  relating  to 
manners  and  customs,  rites  and  ceremonies, 
laws  and  governments,  wars  and  revolutions, 
types  and  symbols,  providential  dispensa- 
tions and  angelic  visits  and  interferences,  the 
most  extraordinary  that  can  be  imagined. 
This  volume,  moreover,  relates  to  matters 
and  events  coeval  with  the  world;  and  all 
bearing  directly  or  remotely  on  the  redemp- 
tion of  mankind  by  Jesus  Christ.  And  we 
may  further  remark  concerning  this  volume, 
that  it  is  strikingly  analogous  to  the  book  of 
nature,  where  wq  find  no  digested  system, 


LECTURE  I.  21 

but  a  rich  profusion  of  miscellaneous  matter : 
with  enough  on  its  surface  to  attract  the  no- 
tice and  call  forth  the  admiration  of  the  be- 
holder, but  in  many  of  its  facts  and  details 
sufficiently  profound  to  exercise  the  inge- 
nuity, and  demand  the  diligent  scrutiny  and 
patient  observation  of  the  strongest  and  best 
cultivated  minds.  So  here,  the  truths  and 
beauties  of  our  book  of  revelation  are  spread 
over  its  pages  as  with  a  bold  and  liberal  hand, 
and  as  if  the  treasures  of  divine  wisdom  and 
goodness  were  herein  disclosed  to  mankind, 
on  purpose  to  make  us  wise,  holy  and  happy. 
But  we  find  no  systematic  arrangement  of 
these  riches;  it  is  uhere  a  little  and  there  a 
little,"  in  various  forms,  and  suited  to  all  ca- 
pacities, plain  lessons  for  plain  people,  and 
deep  mines  of  knowledge  for  such  as  have  the 
ability  and  inclination  to  work  them.  Now, 
from  the  strong  resemblance  which  these 
books  bear  to  one  another  in  the  particulars 
just  named,  we  feel  warranted  in  referring 
them  to  the  same  authorship.  The  God  of 
nature  is  the  God  of  the  Bible.  There  is  no 
collision, no  discord  between  them;  so  far  as 
they  go  together,  their  teachings  are  perfect- 
ly consistent.  True,  the  manner  of  instruc- 
3* 


22  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

tion  is  different,  and  the  latter  goes  much 
further  in  its  disclosures  than  the  former, 
making  us  acquainted  with  things  which  we 
are  deeply  concerned  to  know,  "  which  things 
the  angels  desire  to  look  into."  Now  to 
whichever  of  these  sources  of  knowledge  we 
direct  our  attention  for  useful  information,  we 
may  be  assured  that  our  proficiency  will  de- 
pend very  much  on  the  temper  of  mind  with 
which  we  open  the  book  and  examine  its 
contents.  We  must  go  to  these  teachers  to 
learn,  not  to  cavil  at  what  we  do  not  fully 
comprehend.  We  must  take  the  lessons  as 
they  are  dealt  out  to  us,  and  not  be  in  haste 
to  reach  conclusions  before  we  have  studied 
the  premises.  In  brief,  we  must,  in  all  our 
researches,  cherish  an  humble,  teachable 
spirit,  acknowledge  our  ignorance,  and  pray 
for  light  and  guidance  to  the  Author  of  our 
being:  for  "no  man  becomes  great  or  good 
without  divine  influence.7' 

With  such  views  and  feelings  we  respect- 
fully ask  your  candid  and  patient  attention 
to  a  cursory  examination  of  the  reasons  upon 
which  the  Bible  claims  to  come  from  God,  to 
furnish  us  with  a  perfect  rule  of  duty,  and 
point  us  to  the  way,  the  only  way  of  salva- 


LECTURE  I.  23 

tion  provided  for  our  fallen  race.  Our  dis- 
cussion must  be  brief,  for  the  subject  is  ex- 
ceedingly great;  and  topics  for  consideration, 
growing  out  of  the  general  theme,  crowd 
upon  the  thoughtful  mind.  Indeed,  so  ex- 
tensive is  the  subject,  and  so  numerous  the 
trains  of  thought  that  lead  to  the  same  result, 
that  our  main  difficulty  will  be,  in  selecting 
and  condensing  wisely,  and  so  as  not  to  impair 
the  force  of  an  argument,  strong  and  conclu- 
sive in  itself,  when  rightly  apprehended,  by 
presenting  it  in  a  partial  and  feeble  manner. 
To  keep  within  moderate  limits,  we  shall,  for 
the  present,  confine  our  remarks  chiefly, 
though  not  exclusivelv,  to  the  New  Testa- 
ment:  not  that  we  deem  this  part  of  the  sa- 
cred volume  any  more  authoritative  or  wor- 
thy of  reverential  regard  than  the  Old  Tes- 
tament, but  as  a  matter  of  convenience,  and 
to  preserve  as  much  unity  and  distinctness  in 
our  observations  as  possible.  Besides,  Christ 
and  his  apostles  give  their  unequivocal  sanc- 
tion to  the  writings  of  Moses  and  the  pro- 
phets, so  that  if  the  judgment  of  the  former 
be  correct,  it  settles  the  question  as  to  the 
authority  of  the  latter.  The  connection  be- 
tween these  two  grand  divisions  of  our  sacred 


24  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

book  is  intimate  and  indissoluble..  Together, 
they  constitute  what  we  call  the  Bible,  com- 
prising the  principles  of  revealed  religion, 
imparting  mutual  light  and  support  to  one 
another.  They  stand  or  fall  together.  If 
you  give  up  the  one,  you  surrender  more  than 
half  the  testimonies  in  favour  of  the  other. 
If  you  can  substantiate  the  claims  of  one, 
you  prove  the  divine  origin  and  authority  of 
both.  We  regard  them  as  the  joint,  harmo- 
nious, undying  witnesses  for  God,  that  he  is 
the  Creator,  Lawgiver,  Judge  and  Saviour  of 
the  world. 

Restricting  ourselves  thus,  we  hope  to  get 
through  with  what  we  have  to  say  in  this 
series,  in  about  eight  lectures,  of  ordinary 
length;  and,  to  save  time,  we  shall  indulge 
but  little  in  quoting  authorities,  except  what 
is  indispensable,  when  we  come  to  the  early 
witnesses.  Authorities  we  have,  indeed,  of 
the  most  trustworthy  character,  both  ancient 
and  modern:  but  they  are  so  numerous,  and 
each  so  excellent  in  his  department,  that  it 
seems  invidious  to  cite  from  our  favourites, 
and  pass  by  others  of  perhaps  equal  worth. 
If  any  should  suspect  us  of  speaking  with- 
out book,  they  can  go  to  the  sources  of  in- 


LECTURE  I.  2D 

formation,  and  satisfy  themselves  at  their 
leisure.  Such  epitomes  as  we  offer  in  this 
little  volume,  are  not  designed  to  supersede 
more  extended  reading;  but  to  rouse  the 
mental  energies,  to  mark  out  the  most  advan- 
tageous lines  of  thought,  and  give  dense 
views  of  large  subjects,  as  the  result  of  care- 
ful research,  for  the  benefit,  particularly,  of 
those  whose  circumstances  and  avocations 
allow  them  but  little  time  for  the  perusal  of 
books. 

Another  remark,  we  beg  leave  to  submit. 
Our  subject  is  a  trite  one.  It  has  been  tho- 
roughly canvassed,  in  all  its  ramifications,  and 
presented  in  all  conceivable  aspects.  The 
Xew  Testament  is  a  volume  of  long  standing 
and  deep  interest,  with  a  large  portion  of  ci- 
vilized men.  It  is  not  only,  in  itself,  a  book 
of  some  antiquity  and  attraction  from  its  sin- 
gular features  seen  at  first  glance;  but  it 
professes  to  contain  the  elements  of  a  reli- 
gion,— the  true  religion,  which  is  as  old  as 
creation.  Xo  book  extant  has  been  the  text 
of  so  much  comment  and  criticism.  It  has 
been  assailed  and  vilified,  expounded  and 
defended,  for  nearly  eighteen  hundred  years, 
by  men  of  the  first  order  of  intellect:  so  that 


26  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

nothing  new  is  to  be  expected  here,  on  either 
side  of  the  question.     The  most  that  can  be 
done,  now-a-days,is  to  compile  and  compress, 
and   exhibit   old   arguments  in  a  modified 
form;  to  re-arrange  and  work  into  a  new  fa- 
bric, materials  long  since  collected,  and  much 
of  which  lies  stowed  away  in  old  store-houses, 
the  food  of  moths.     But  truth,  unlike  many 
other  things,  suffers  no  deterioration  by  age. 
Like  its  Divine  Author,  it  is  the  same  yes- 
terday, to-day,  and  for  ever.    To  bring  it  out, 
therefore,  from  its  retirement,  and  place  it 
in  contact  with  minds  capable  of  appreciating 
and  feeling  its  benefits  is  a  laudable  design, 
though  not  always  popular.     Novelties  may 
be  harmless  and   entertaining;   they  tickle 
the  ear,  and  beguile  the  tediousness  of  a  dull 
day:    but   truth,   perceived   and  embraced, 
makes   its  votaries   free   and   happy.     The 
search  for  truth,  on  any  subject,  is  a  noble 
and  ennobling  employment;  but  the  question 
about  the  truth  of  religion  is  transcendency 
momentous.     When  we  set  ourselves  down 
to  examine  the  pretensions  of  a  book  which 
professes  to  bring  "  good  tidings  of  great  joy 
to  all  people,"  we  should  observe  every  link 
in  the  chain  of  argument  till  we  see  its  issue. 


LECTURE  I. 


27 


A  sound  judgment  can  hardly  be  formed 
without  a  patient  hearing  of  the  testimony 
in  the  case.'  You  take  the  meaning  of  this 
paragraph.  If  you  would  receive  the  full 
benefit  of  a  course  of  instruction  such  as  we 
propose  in  these  brief  lectures,  you  must 
read  the  whole  with  care  and  candour.  If 
we  cannot  give  you  new  dishes,  highly  spiced, 
we  shall  endeavour  to  give  you  what  is  bet- 
ter for  health,  nutritious  and  plain  fare. 

Another  remark  may  be  made  here,  as  il- 
lustrative of  the  importance  of  our  subject. 
There  is  a  strong  tendency  in  human  nature 
to  extremes;  and  every  extreme  is  error. 
Thus  you  find  simple,  well-meaning  people, 
induced  by  the  representations  of  ignorant 
or  designing  men,  throwing  their  earthly 
goods  into  a  common  stock,  living  in  a  com- 
munity by  themselves,  turning  their  backs 
upon  many  of  the  relative  duties  of  life,  em- 
bracing religious  notions,  and  practising  re- 
ligious rites,  said,  without  evidence,  to  have 
been  received  from  above,  in  some  mysterious 
way.  Such  projects,  as  time  always  demon- 
strates, are  visionary  and  often  disastrous. 
Others  you  see,  just  now  and  all  around  you, 
very  decent,  industrious,  and  many  of  them 


28  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

quite  serious  people,  possessed  by  the  belief 
that  the  world  is  very  soon  coming  to  an  end. 
Their  leaders  fix  the  day,  time  after  time; 
their  fears  take  the  alarm,  they  throw  up 
their  worldly  business,  dispose  of  their  pro- 
perty at  an  under-value,  or  give  it  away, 
cease  to  provide  for  their  children,  and  be- 
take themselves  exclusively  to  watching  and 
prayer.  The  consequences  of  these  extrava- 
gant movements  need  not  be  portrayed  here: 
they  are  notorious,  and  deeply  to  be  lament- 
ed. But  for  these  and  the  like  evils,  flow- 
ing from  the  same  prolific  source,  what  is  the 
remedy?  Not  law,  not  physical  force;  you 
cannot,  and  perhaps  you  ought  not  to  under- 
take to  coerce  fanaticism,  except  in  so  far  as 
it  violates  the  rights  of  others,  or  disturbs 
the  public  peace.  What  then  would  be  the 
appropriate  and  effectual  remedy  or  prevent- 
ive? Some  intelligible,  divinely  accredited, 
and  authoritative  standard  of  belief  and 
practice.  I  know  the  teachers,  in  some  of 
these  sects,  profess  to  take  their  texts  from 
our  Bible.  But  what  interpreters  they  are ! 
Our  book  says,  in  plain  terms,  that  before 
the  termination  of  the  present  dispensation, 
the  gospel  is  to  be  preached  to  all  nations, 


LECTURE  1.  29 

— that  war  shall  cease  to  be  waged, — that 
peace,  like  a  river,  is  to  flow  forth  and  bless 
the  world, — that  all  kings  and  rulers  shall  do 
homage  to  the  king  of  Zion.  Surely  the  end 
is  not  yet,  for  these  predictions  are  not  yet 
accomplished.  And  again,  our  Teacher  from 
heaven  says,  with  emphasis,  in  reference  to 
the  end  of  the  world,—"  Of  that  day  and 
hour  knoweth  no  man;  no,  not  the  angels  of 
heaven;  but  my  Father  only."  And  a  little 
onward  in  the  same  chapter,  Matt,  xxiv.,  it 
is  asked,  "Who,  then,  is  a  faithful  and  wise 
servant,  whom  his  Lord  hath  made  ruler 
over  his  household,  to  give  them  their  meat 
in  due  season?  Blessed  is  that  servant  whom 
his  Lord,  when  he  cometh,  shall  find  so 
doing."  That  is,  to  be  ready  for  our  Lord's 
coming,  is  to  be  at  our  post,  and  engaged  in 
the  business  which  a  wise  Providence  has  as- 
signed us.  Now  the  Bible  purports  to  be  a 
sure  word  of  prophecy,— a  light  to  our  feet 
and  a  lamp  to  our  path, — to  be  of  divine  in- 
spiration, to  the  end  that  the  man  of  God  may 
be  thoroughly  furnished  with  the  true  prin- 
ciples of  religious  faith,  and  right  rules  of 
conduct  in  all  circumstances.  And  were  this 
blessed  book  more  generally  known  and  re- 
4 


30  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

ceived  as  the  sure  basis  of  hope  and  the  fixed 
law  of  duty,  the  ravages  of  fanatical  wildfire 
would  soon  be  stayed,  and  the  fable  of  the 
golden  age  would  be  realized  in  the  universal 
reign  of  the  Prince  of  peace. 

One  thing  more  by  way  of  bespeaking  at- 
tention to  this  brief  view  of  the  evidences  in 
favour  of  our  common  Christianity.  How  is 
it,  and  why  is  it,  we  ask  in  the  name  of  com- 
mon sense  and  reason,  that  men — rational 
and  intelligent  men — can  consent  to  live,  as 
many  do,  from  youth  to  old  age,  in  a  state  of 
indecision  about  the  true  religion,  while  they 
find  it  so  painful  to  be  undecided  in  matters 
of  confessedly  inferior  moment?  See  how  it 
is  in  a  political  contest:  what  rigid  scrutiny 
into  the  claims  of  the  candidates,  their  cha- 
racters  and  policy  ;  what  frequent  meetings, 
mass  meetings;  and  how  eager  to  hear;  what 
thrilling  appeals  from  the  platform  and  from 
the  press;  what  searching  of  documents  and 
witnesses;  what  rapid  running  of  expresses,  to 
bear  the  news  from  state  to  state ;  what  libe- 
ral contributions  to  meet  the  expense;  what 
promptness  and  generosity  in  clearing  the 
course  for  the  bashful,  and  aged,  and  invalid 
voter!    Now  we  are  not  condemning  all  this, 


LECTURE  I.  31 

nor  any  of  it.  Our  point  is,  the  dispropor- 
tion between  the  zeal  manifested  about  mat- 
ters which,  after  all,  are  temporary  and  tran- 
sient, and  that  which  is  generally  evinced  on 
the  great  questions, — What  is  the  true  reli- 
gion? What  the  published  law  of  Heaven? 
Who  is  Lord  of  all  ?  Who  has  the  words  of 
eternal  life?  Who  is  the  Saviour?  To 
whom  may  we  with  confidence  commit  our 
spirits  when  we  die?  These  are  questions 
of  transcendent  interest  to  every  human  be- 
ing. And  they  are  questions  that  cannot  be 
settled  without  serious  inquiry.  Now,  if  you 
would  be  consistent  and  decided,  and  not  ex- 
pose yourselves  to  be  driven  about  by  every 
wind  of  doctrine,  you  will  improve  the  oppor- 
tunities which  Providence  affords  to  hear  the 
witnesses  for  the  truth;  and  benevolence 
will  move  you  to  use  your  influence  with  your 
families  and  neighbours  to  join  you  in  your 
endeavours  to  find  the  truth,  and  the  deep 
foundation  of  a  hope  that  maketh  not 
ashamed. 


32  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


LECTURE  II. 

THE    GENUINENESS,  AUTHENTICITY  AND  INTEGRITY  OF 
THE  NEW  TESTAMENT. 

As  was  stated  in  the  introduction,  we  con- 
fine ourselves,  in  this  series  of  lectures,  main- 
ly to  the  New  Testament;  not  because  it  is 
deemed  of  higher  authority,  or  more  import- 
ance than  the  Old  Testament,  but  for  conve- 
nience, and  to  preserve  as  much  unity  as  pos- 
sible in  our  remarks;  and,  also,  because 
Christ  and  his  apostles  have  placed  the  seal 
of  their  sanction  upon  the  writings  of  Moses 
and  the  prophets,  so  that  the  divine  authority 
of  the  one  involves  that  of  the  other.  They 
are  integral  parts  of  the  same  book  of  re- 
vealed religion,  and  ought,  we  think,  gene- 
rally to  be  bound  up  in  one  volume,  to  pre- 
vent diversity  of  opinion,  which  will,  other- 
wise, arise  in  the  public  mind  respecting 
their  comparative  value. 

This  latter  portion  of  our  sacred  book, 
called  the  New  Testament,  or  New  Covenant, 


LECTURE  II.  33 

in  the  Greek  language,  in  which  it  was  writ- 
ten, <h  kainh  AIA0HKH,  consists  of  twenty- 
seven  pieces,  composed  on  various  occasions, 
and  at  different  times,  but  all  within  the  first 
century  of  the  Christian  era,  and  about  sixty- 
five  to  seventy  years  after  the  Saviour's  as- 
cension. Of  these  pieces,  five  are,  for  the 
most  part,  historical;  viz.,  the  four  gospels 
and  the  Acts  of  the  apostles;  twenty-one  are 
doctrinal,  and  in  the  form  of  letters,  ad- 
dressed to  churches  and  individuals;  one,  and 
the  last  in  the  volume,  as  we  now  have  it, 
prophetical,  called  the  Revelation,  or  Apoca- 
lypse, reaching,  as  we  have  reason  to  think, 
to  the  end  of  time,  the  close  of  the  present 
dispensation. 

These  narratives  were  received  by  the 
churches,  not  simultaneously,  but  gradually, 
and  after  a  careful  investigation  of  their 
claims  to  divine  authority ;  for  spurious  works 
were  put  in  circulation,  which  roused  the 
jealousy  of  the  disciples,  and  rendered  them 
exceedingly  cautious  in  filling  up  the  sacred 
canon.  Nothing  was  admitted  that  did  not 
bear  on  its  face  the  strongest  marks  of  ge- 
nuineness and  inspiration.  And  this  accounts 
for  the  delay  that  took  place  in  completing 
4* 


34  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

the  rule  of  faith — the  statute  book  of  the 
kingdom  of  Christ.  It  was,  completed,  how- 
ever, with  the  exception  of  a  few  of  the  mi- 
nor pieces,  which  were  held  under  considera- 
tion and  finally  adopted,  early  in  the  second 
century;  and  as  several  sound  critics  believe, 
in  regard  to  the  greater  part  of  the  Xew  Tes- 
tament, under  the  eye,  and  with  the  sanction 
of  the  Apostle  John,  who  lived  to  a  great  age. 
The  authorship  of  the  several  manuscripts 
which  make  up  the  matter  of  the  volume  in 
question,  was  determined  with  similar  circum- 
spection. To  most  of  them  the  names  of  the 
writers  were  attached,  and  where  these  were 
withheld,  for  prudential  reasons,  the  ques- 
tion was  settled  by  circumstantial  evidences, 
such  as  allusions  to  persons,  places  and  usages, 
and  certain  characteristics  in  style,  which  be- 
tray an  author  to  a  discerning  reader,  in 
spite  of  all  his  efforts  at  concealment.  Mat- 
thew, Mark,  Luke  and  John  penned  the  four 
gospel  narratives  and  the  Acts.  Two  of 
these  were  of  the  primitive  twelve  apostles: 
viz.,  Matthew  and  John;  and  the  other  two 
were  among  the  first  evangelists.  Mark  was 
a  disciple  of  Peter,  and  wrote  under  his  in- 
spection; and  Luke,  who  wrote  the  mission- 


LECTURE  II.  35 

ary  journal,,  called  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles, 
as  also  the  gospel  which  bears  his  name,  was 
the  companion  of  Paul,  and  acted  as  his  ama- 
nuensis or  clerk.  Of  the  twenty-one  epistles, 
Paul  wrote  fourteen,  to  churches  and  distin- 
guished individuals,  to  each  of  which  he  an- 
nexed his  name,  except  that  to  the  Hebrews, 
from  which  he  withheld  it,  no  doubt,  that 
their  prejudices  might  not  be  immediately 
awakened  against  it,  as  coming  from  him, 
who  was  eminently  the  apostle  of  the  gen- 
tiles, with  whom  they  were  not  yet  dis- 
posed to  hold  fellowship.  The  other  seven 
epistles,  called  catholic,  because  not  ad- 
dressed to  particular  churches  or  persons, 
were,  as  is  well  known,  by  Peter,  James,  John 
and  Jucle.  The  Apocalypse  was  revealed  to 
the  Apostle  John,  while  in  a  state  of  banish- 
ment, on  the  isle  of  Patmos.  Xow  the  obvious 
design  of  all  these  written  documents  is,  to 
give  a  history  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth: — his 
person,  his  doctrines,  his  works,  his  sufferings 
and  death,  his  resurrection  and  ascension, — 
the  nature  of  his  kinsrdom,  and  the  effects  of 
the  ministry  and  institutions  which  he  ap- 
pointed before  he  left  the  world.  And  the 
writers   all   profess   to   have   had  personal 


36  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

knowledge  of  the  facts  which  they  narrate. 
They  were,  most  of  them,  among  his  early 
disciples  and  followers;  became  such  at  his 
call,  which  was,  in  no.  instance,  attended  by 
flattering  prospects  of  a  worldly  nature. 
They  straightway  dropped  their  wonted  oc- 
cupations and  engaged  in  his  service,  prompt- 
ly, and  at  the  expense  of  great  sacrifices,  un- 
der the  frown  of  all  the  existing  powers  of 
church  and  state.  They  heard  him  preach, 
— put  questions  to  him  for  solution, — ex- 
pressed their  doubts  and  fears  about  many 
of  his  movements  and  teachings.  They  wit- 
nessed his  extraordinary  works, — saw  him, 
now,  taking  notice  of  little  children  and  bless- 
ing them, — and  then  confounding  and  si- 
lencing the  expounders  of  the  law, — casting 
out  devils, — raising  the  dead,  and  quelling 
the  storm  at  sea.  If,  then,  these  men  are  the 
real  authors  of  the  narratives  and  letters  to 
which  their  names  were  affixed, — if  they  were 
men  of  common  sense  and  honesty, — no  facts, 
one  would  suppose,  could  be  more  satisfac- 
torily attested  than  those  which  are  recorded 
in  the  New  Tesfament.  They  were  in  the 
best  position  conceivable,  to  know  the  truth 
of  the  matter  about  which  they  undertake  to 


LECTURE  II.  37 

write;  and  the  relation  which  they  bore  to 
Christ,  enhances  the  value  of  their  testimony; 
for  it  is  the  witness  of  constant,  close  obser- 
vation, and,  in  the  case  of  some  of  them,  it  is 
the  unsolicited  suffrage  of  persons  who,  from 
enemies,  had  become  friends,  th rough  the 
power  of  evidence  addressed  to  their  senses, 
and  a  full  persuasion  of  the  validity  of  his 
claims. 

But  have  we  sufficient  reason  for  believing 
that  these  writings  are  the  genuine  produc- 
tions of  the  authors  whose  names  they  bear? 
We  will  endeavour  to  give  to  this  question 
an  affirmative  and  satisfactory  answer.  But 
suppose,  for  a  moment,  that  this  could  not  be 
done.  Would  you  feel  bound,  in  reason,  to 
give  up  the  documents  as  unworthy  of  credit? 
Does  a  fictitious  or  assumed  name  vitiate,  or 
impair  the  intrinsic  value  of  an  essay,  or 
any  communication  to  which  it  is  affixed? 
How  many  excellent  pieces  have  been  pub- 
lished under  the  names  of  Franklin,  Penn, 
Knox,  Calvin,  &c.  Are  the  letters  of  Junius 
any  the  less  just  and  true,  on  account  of  the 
dispute  which  so  long  existed  about  their 
real  authorship?  Certainly  not.  It  is  the 
matter,  the  doctrine,  the  force  of  argument, 


38  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

that  give  weight  and  worth  to  the  book.  If 
the  "Life  of  Washington"'  by  the  late  Chief 
Justice  Marshall,  had  been  published  as  the 
work  of  his  son  Thomas,  would  that  circum- 
stance have  rendered  the  history  less  true, 
or  less  worthy  of  a  place  in  your  library? 
How,  then,  would  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews 
be  affected,  either  in  its  force  of  argument, 
or  its  authority  as  a  part  of  divine  revelation, 
if  it  should  be  discovered,  in  this  age  of  re- 
search and  discovery,  that  not  Paul  the  apos- 
tle, but  some  other  disciple  of  Christ,  pro- 
foundly learned  in  the  Jewish  ritual,  and  fa- 
miliar with  the  Christian  plan  of  salvation, 
was  the  real  author  of  that  admirable  letter? 
Would  it  be  less  worthy  of  the  place  which 
it  now  occupies  in  the  sacred  canon?  Not 
at  all. 

But  we  freely  acknowledge  there  is  some- 
thing rather  unnatural  and  improbable  in  all 
this;  and  we  return  to  the  question  about  the 
genuineness  or  true  authorship  of  our  book. 
When  asked  why  we  believe  Matthew  Levi 
to  be  the  writer  of  the  first  evangelical  nar- 
rative in  the  New  Testament;  we  answer: — 
for  reasons  such  as  to  satisfy  us  that  Thomas 
Jefferson  penned  our  Declaration  of  Indepen- 


LECTURE  II.  39 

dence,  seventy-eight  years  ago ;  or  that  Milton 
wrote  the  "  Paradise  Lost;"  or  that  the  Em- 
peror Justinian,  of  the  sixth  century,  is  the 
author  of  the  famous  Law  Institutes  which 
have  come  down  to  us,  connected  with  his 
name;  or  that  Eusebius,  of  the  fourth  cen- 
tury, wrote  the  Church  History  distinguished 
by  his  name.  These  works  have  been  gene- 
rally ascribed  to  the  persons  just  named,  as 
their  authors.  They  have  been  quoted,  com- 
mented on,  translated,  and  referred  to  as  the 
genuine  productions  of  the  men  whose  names 
are  attached  to  them,  severally.  It  is  the 
prevalent  opinion, — the  testimony  of  history, 
— the  judgment  of  those  who  lived  when  the 
works  first  made  their  appearance.  And 
why  should  we  hesitate  to  concur  in  the  de- 
cision which  has  come  down  to  us  with  the 
consent  of  so  many  competent  judges?  Now 
to  apply  this  reasoning  to  the  case  in  hand : 
— It  is  not  at  all  likely  that  the  early  Chris- 
tians would  have  admitted  into  their  book  of 
faith  and  rules  of  duty,  any  writings  under 
wrong  or  fictitious  names.  We  find,  more- 
over, that  the  sacred  writers  themselves  fre- 
quently refer  one  to  another  as  the  authors  of 
their  respective  productions.     Thus  you  will 


40  EVIDENCES  OP  CHRISTIANITY. 

find  Peter  referring  to  Paul  as  a  beloved  bro- 
ther, who,  in  some  of  his  epistles,  had  written 
things  hard  to  be  understood :  and  by  looking 
at  the  marginal  references,  in  jour  Bibles, 
you  will  see  in  Paul's  letters  to  the  Romans 
and  Corinthians,  the  very  things  referred  to, 
Read  the  speech  of  Stephen,  the  protomar- 
tyr,  recorded  in  the  seventh  chapter  of  the 
Acts,  in  which  he  alludes  to  many  facts  and 
predictions  of  Moses  and  David,  as  you  find 
them  recorded,  under  their  names,  in  the  Old 
Testament.  And  if  you  will  take  the  pains 
to  look  into  the  writers  of  the  first  three  cen- 
turies of  our  era,  you  will  be  surprised  at  the 
frequent  and  full  quotations  which  they  make 
from  the  evangelists  and  apostles,  by  name, 
as  we  have  them  in  our  version.  The  same 
thing  is  done  by  several  of  the  bitterest  ene- 
mies of  Christianity,  such  as  Hierocles,  of 
Bithynia,  Porphyry,  Celsus,  and  Julian  the 
apostate.  These  adversaries  of  our  religion 
quote  freely  from  Matthew,  Luke,  John  and 
Paul;  and  in  the  whole  drift  of  their  objec- 
tions, go  upon  the  concession  that  the  Chris- 
tian scriptures  were  the  works  of  the  author? 
to  whom  they  were  ascribed.  What  reason- 
able ground  of  doubt,  then,  can  we  have,  in 


LECTURE  n.  41 

regard  to  the  genuineness  or  authorship  of 
these  books?  But  a  more  important  question 
about  these  writings  relates  to  their  authen- 
ticity; that  is,  whether  the  writers  relate 
matters  of  fact  as  they  really  happened,  and 
are,  therefore,  worthy  of  confidence  as  histo- 
rians. To  answer  this  inquiry,  we  arrange 
our  remarks  under  two  heads,  or  two  subor- 
dinate questions,  viz. :  1.  Were  these  writers, 
who  are  also  witnesses,  competent?  2.  "Were 
they  honest,  and  disposed  to  tell  the  truth  ? 

1.  In  regard  to  their  competency,  we  ob- 
serve, without  assuming  at  present  their  in- 
spiration, a  point  which  shall  receive  atten- 
tion in  its  proper  place,  that  from  all  that  we 
can  learn  of  their  characters,  they  appear  to 
have  been,  with  the  exception  of  Luke  and 
Paul,  who  were  evidently  men  of  learning, 
plain,  uneducated  men,  but  men  of  good  com- 
mon sense,  and  of  a  respectable  share  of  prac- 
tical wisdom.  And  they  were  placed  in  cir- 
cumstances, as  constant  attendants  on  the 
ministry  and  movements  of  Christ,  altogether 
favourable  for  knowing  what  he  did  and  said, 
and  what  others  did  and  said  in  his  name,  or 
in  opposition  to  his  designs.  And,  then,  the 
occurrences  which  they  relate  were  of  such  a 
5 


42  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

nature,  as  that  they  could  hardly  be  deceived 
in  relation  to  them.  Every  thing  was  done 
openly,  and,  for  the  most  part,  in  the  presence 
of  opposers,  as  well  as  adherents.  We  for- 
bear to  mention  the  miraculous  works  in  this 
connection,  because  they  will  be  noticed  in 
their  proper  place,  when  we  come  to  the  sub- 
ject of  miracles.  And  as  to  the  Saviour's 
birth,  and  the  events  that  transpired  under 
the  brief  ministry  of  John  the  Baptist,  which 
took  place  before  our  evangelists  were  called 
from  their  secular  employments  to  serve  in 
the  Christian  cause,  these  were  recent  events, 
and  could  easily  be  recollected,  or  obtained 
from  the  lips  of  living  witnesses.  The  me- 
morable occasion,  the  taxing,  or  registering, 
which  drew  Joseph  and  Mary  to  Bethlehem 
— the  angelic  announcements,  and  tl^e  report 
of  the  shepherds — must  have  been  matters 
of  public  notoriety.  In  brief,  from  the  cha- 
racter of  the  men,  situated  as  they  were,  and 
from  the  nature  of  the  things  attested  by 
them,  it  does  seem  that  they  were  competent 
witnesses.     But — 

II.  Were  they  honest,  and  disposed  to  tell 
the  truth?  We  should  always  presume  upon 
men's  honesty  until  they  are  convicted,  or 


LECTURE  II.  43 

give  strong  indications  of  fraud  or  deceit. 
We  have  looked  into  all  the  best  and  most 
impartial  memoirs  of  these  men  that  have  lain 
within  our  reach,  and  can  find  no  charge  of 
unfairness,  in  any  respect,  brought  against 
them,  except  the  general,  sweeping  allega- 
tion, of  professed  enemies  to  them  and  their 
religion,  of  their  having  clubbed  together  for 
the  purpose  of  palming  upon  the  world  a  cun- 
ningly devised  fable  as  a  communication  from 
God.  This  we  take  to  be  gratuitous  and  un- 
supported; and  we  are  not  disposed  to  believe 
anything,  without  evidence  of  some  sort; 
certainly  we  will  not  give  credit  to  an  evil 
report  of  any  man,  or  any  set  of  men,  with- 
out good  reasons.  Sneers  and  inuendoes  we 
let  pass  as  the  noxious  breathings  of  enyj  or 
malice.  Plain,  labouring  men,  such  as  car- 
penters, tent-makers,  and  fishermen,  are  not 
apt  to  engage  in  wild  schemes,  especially  com- 
plicated projects,  open  at  many  points  to  de- 
tection, on  purpose  to  deceive  the  world,  par- 
ticularly where  the  prospect  of  advancing  their 
own  interests,  by  imposing  on  others,  is  dull 
and  doubtful.  Indeed,  the  gospel  scheme  is 
too  complex  in  its  machinery,  and  too  vast  in 
its  design,  to  have  originated  in  an  untutored 


44  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

mind;  and,  we  will  add,  it  is  too  good  and 
godlike  to  have  been  conceived  in  a  depraved 
heart.  If  we  take  our  ideas  of  the  character 
of  these  witnesses  from  their  writings,  we 
must  think  them  unsophisticated  and  candid 
to  a  proverb.  They  do  and  say  every  thing 
above  board:  there  seems  to  have  been  no 
caballing  or  concealment  among  them.  They 
tell  us  of  their  own  faults  and  foibles;  of  their 
mistakes,  for  they  pretend  not  to  inspiration 
or  infallibility,  except  when  employed  directly 
as  the  messengers  or  amanuenses  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  On  ordinary  occasions  they  were  as 
liable  to  err,  and  as  open  to  temptation,  as 
other  men  in  like  circumstances.  Let  this  be 
borne  in  mind,  and  it  will  enable  you  to  solve 
many  difficulties  which  you  find  in  reconciling 
some  parts  of  their  conduct,  as  men,  with  their 
pretensions  as  the  accredited  ministers  of  God. 
Had  they  banded  together  to  accomplish  some 
sinister  end,  under  the  garb  of  religion,  would 
they  have  told  us  of  their  ambition,  intole- 
rance, and,  in  some  instances,  treachery  and 
falsehood?  of  their  prejudices  and  faithless- 
ness, which  drew  upon  them  the  rebuke  of 
their  beloved  and  faithful  Master?  What  an 
humbling  tale  they  give  us  of  Peter's  beha- 


LECTURE  II.  45 

viour  in  the  hall  of  Pilate,  under  the  power 
of  temptation,  when,  for  a  little  season,  his 
fear  got  the  better  of  his  faith,  and  overcame 
his  usual  boldness  and  courage !  Does  not 
all  this  look  like  a  scrupulous  regard  for  truth? 
Does  it  not  bespeak  a  frankness  and  an  ho- 
nest simplicity  such  as  you  rarely  or  never 
meet  with  in  other  writers?  How  can  you 
account  for  these  things  without  supposing 
that  they  were  conscientiously  rigid  in  de- 
claring the  whole  truth,  and  that  they  wrote, 
not  for  any  selfish  purpose,  but  for  the  ho- 
nour of  their  Lord,  and  the  good  of  mankind? 
Are  Ave  not  bound  in  justice,  then,  to  regard 
them  as  faithful  witnesses?  and  ought  we  not 
to  receive  their  statements  as  a  true  account 
of  facts  and  events  as  they  really  occurred  ? 
Had  they  been  in  conspiracy  for  the  ac- 
complishment of  some  evil  design,  we  think 
they  could  not  have  kept  the  secret  so  long. 
To  sustain  this  opinion,  take  the  case  of  Ju- 
das Iscariot,  one  of  the  Twelve.  Here  was 
a  case  of  defection  among  themselves,  in  which 
the  collusion,  had  there  been  any,  would  most 
assuredly  have  been  divulged.  This  misera- 
ble man  had  been  with  them  from  the  begin- 
ning, and  was  undoubtedly  acquainted  with 
5* 


46  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

their  design.  But,  being  actuated  by  wrong 
motives,  his  hypocrisy  was,  in  due  time,  de- 
tected and  disclosed  by  the  heart-searching 
Saviour.  How  was  he  affected,  and  how  did 
he  behave,  on  occasion  of  his  exposure  and 
abandonment?  Did  he  make  any  disclosure 
at  all  affecting  the  character  and  intentions 
of  the  body  with  which  he  had  been  so  inti- 
mately connected?  Not  a  syllable.  Why? 
Because,  as  we  have  a  right  to  infer  from 
what  we  know  of  human  nature,  he  had  no 
tales  to  tell.  How  apt  are  men,  when  they 
withdraw  in  disgust,  or  are  expelled  from  a 
society  or  club  with  which  they  have  been 
associated,  to  reveal  and  proclaim,  with  an 
air  of  triumph,  every  thing  within  their  know- 
ledge, which  will  be  likely  to  vindicate  them- 
selves, and  blacken  the  character  of  the  body 
they  have  left,  or  from  which  they  have  been 
excluded !  This  is  a  matter  of  very  common 
experience.  Now  here  is  a  man,  in  circum- 
stances of  strong  temptation,  leaving  the  apos- 
tolic college,  instituted  as  some  wise  men  after 
the  flesh  would  persuade  you,  to  deceive  the 
world ;  and  yet  he  utters  not  a  word  against 
it.  On  the  contrary,  he  gives  decisive  though 
involuntary  testimony  in  its  favour.     Stung 


LECTURE  II.  47 

with  conscious  guilt,  and  overwhelmed  with 
self-abhorrence,  he  rushes  out  of  the  Chris- 
tian brotherhood,  dashes  down,  at  the  feet  of 
those  who  had  bought  him,  the  price  of  his 
treachery,  and  commits  a  felo-de-se  by  hang- 
ing himself.  Had  there  been  fanaticism,  re- 
bellion, vanity,  ambition,  misanthropy,  or  any 
other  evil  purpose,  in  the  counsels  of  these 
first  ministers  of  the  gospel,  then  the  core  and 
nucleus  of  the  Christian  system — that  it  did 
not  come  out  on  this  occasion,  we  aver,  was 
contrary  to  all  experience  and  reasonable  ex- 
pectation— a  mystery — ^miracle,  may  we  not 
say,  as  incomprehensible  as  any  recorded  in 
the  evangelical  narrative? 

TVe  pass  to  another  consideration,  showing 
the  authenticity  and  credibility  of  these  his- 
tories; for,  in  regard  to  matters  of  fact,  not 
of  doctrine,  the  distinction  is  not  worth  pre- 
serving, because  a  fact,  which  is  authentic,  is 
also  credible.  We  refer  to  the  harmony  or 
substantial  identity  which  the  narrators  main- 
tain throughout,  in  all  the  leading  and  essen- 
tial particulars  of  their  history.  Here  are 
four  writers  and  five  narratives,  two  of  them 
having  been  composed  by  Luke,  who,  though 
they  differ  in  style  and  arrangement,  and  par- 


48  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

ticularity,  just  as  witnesses  in  the  same  case, 
examined  separately,  would  differ,  and  just 
enough  to  show  that  they  had  not  banded  to- 
gether for  the  purpose  of  carrying  a  point, 
yet  agree  in  the  main,  so  as  to  satisfy  any  im- 
partial and  intelligent  judge  that  all  their 
depositions  are  faithful,  and  founded  in  truth. 
This  is  worthy  of  special  notice,  inasmuch  as 
they  did  not  write  in  the  same  place  or  at  the 
same  time.  Feigned  accounts,  even  if  there 
had  been  concert  among  writers  thus  situa- 
ted, would  with  moral  certainty  have  crossed 
each  other,  and  been  found  in  serious  colli- 
sion. Nothing  of  this  kind,  of  any  importance, 
is  to  be  found  in  our  historians.  I  know  there 
is  a  seeming  discrepancy  between  Matthew 
and  Luke,  in  regard  to  the  genealogy  of 
Christ,  which  has  been  worked  up  into  a 
frightful  bugbear  by  certain  skeptical  critics, 
whom  we  forbear  to  name,  but  which  is  easi- 
ly reconciled,  by  observing  that  the  one  takes 
the  pedigree  of  Joseph,  and  the  other  that  of 
Mary.  Besides,  these  genealogies  were  ma- 
nifestly taken  from  Jewish  tables,  acknow- 
ledged by  the  scribes  as  substantially  correct, 
and  therefore  answering  the  purpose  of  the 
evangelists,  which  was,  to  prove  that  their 


LECTURE  II.  49 

blessed  Master  was  of  the  tribe  of  Judah,  and 
of  the  family  of  David.  And,  after  all,  it  is 
a  matter  which  does  not  touch  one  essential 
doctrine  of  the  gospel.  An  inspired  writer 
may  quote  the  sayings  or  statistics  of  others, 
without  impairing  his  own  veracity,  or  com- 
promitting  the  cause  which  he  advocates  in 
the  least.  The  facts  and  events  that  constitute 
the  materials  of  these  historical  pieces,  were 
being  developed,  from  time  to  time,  during  a 
period  of  more  than  three  quarters  of  a  cen- 
tury, including  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  and 
the  writers  made  their  notes  at  various  points; 
yet  how  well  they  harmonize  in  all  the  main 
features  of  their  narrations!  What  but  an 
intimate  knowledge  of  facts,  with  an  inflexi- 
ble love  of  the  truth,  could  have  produced 
this  harmony?  That  they  did  not  copy  from 
one  another,  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  they 
do  not  all  give  the  same  particulars.  To  get 
a  full  history  of  Christ  and  his  divinely-com- 
missioned ambassadors,  you  must  read  the  five 
narratives.  And  then,  when  you  go  on  to  the 
epistles,  or,  as  you  may  call  them,  the  doc- 
trinal letters,  you  meet  with  numerous  and 
seemingly  incidental  coincidences  with,  and 
allusions  to,  the  histories,  as  written  by  the 


50  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

evangelists,  confirmatory  of  the  statements, 
and  evincing,  not  only  the  genuineness  and 
authenticity  of  the  several  journals,  but  a 
complete  and  wonderful  agreement  between 
the  facts  and  doctrines  of  our  religion.  Such 
harmony — such  entire,  yet  unstudied  concur- 
rence and  agreement  in  so  many  particulars, 
among  so  many  writers,  spread  over  so  much 
time  and  space,  tending  to  establish  the  truth 
of  any  system  of  religion  or  philosophy,  we 
venture  to  affirm,  cannot  be  found  in  the  re- 
cords of  the  world.  Truth  tends  powerfully 
to  union  and  consistency,  while  error  and 
false  pretensions  are  devious,  multiform,  and 
divisive. 

Think,  in  the  next  place,  of  the  extreme 
difficulty,  nay,  we  might  say,  impossibility, 
of  passing  off  as  a  true  account,  such  a  his- 
tory, or  journal  rather,  as  that  which  we 
have  in  the  New  Testament,  abounding,  as  it 
does,  in  thrilling  and  memorable  incidents, 
among  the  very  people,  or  their  immediate 
successors,  some  of  whom  must  have  been 
living  when  the  said  events  are  alleged  to 
have  taken  place,  if  it  was  all  a  sheer  fic- 
tion. How  could  it  be  done  by  any  set  of 
men;  especially,  such  plain,  unlettered  men 
as  were  our  evangelists?    Think  what  they 


LECTURE  II.  51 

report  as  notorious  matters  of  fact;  the  birth 
of  Jesus,  and  its  attendant  circumstances, 
with  a  specification  of  the  town  where  it  took 
place,  the  visit  of  the  distinguished  strangers 
from  the  East,  the  date  fixed,  by  naming  the 
emperor  and  the  governors  then  in  power : 
the  flight  of  the  holy  family  into  Egypt  and 
the  reason  of  it;  and,  subsequently,  the  bap- 
tism of  Christ,  by  the  famous  baptizer  John, 
at  the  river  Jordan,  amid  a  vast  concourse  of 
people,  the  voice  from  heaven,  by  which  the 
Saviour  was  recognized  as  the  Son  of  God, 
and  the  great  Teacher  who  had  peculiar 
claims  to  be  heard;  then  the  sermon  on  the 
mount,  the  greatest  that  ever  was  preached; 
his  parables,  so  skilfully  constructed,  so 
pointed  and  cutting,  some  of  them,  to  the 
Scribes  and  Pharisees;  and  his  marvellous 
works,  multitudes,  thousands  fed  with  a  few 
loaves  and  fishes,  when  the  fragments  left  far 
exceeded  the  original  provision;  so  many 
cured  of  inveterate  diseases ;  some  deceased 
persons  were  raised  to  life,  whose  names  and 
families  are  given ;  then,  his  persecution,  ar- 
raignment and  condemnation  by  Pilate,  well 
known  by  his  office;  the  crucifixion  and  burial 
of  the  Holy  One  in  the  tomb  of  Joseph,  a 


52  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

man  of  note  about  Jerusalem;  the  resurrec- 
tion; and  the  ascension  near  Bethany,  at- 
tested by  witnesses  in  great  numbers.  Now, 
how  could  such  stories  obtain  any  credit  or 
currency  among  the  inhabitants  of  Palestine, 
if  unfounded  and  untrue?  It  is  impossible. 
But  yet  the  skeptic  takes  refuge  in  the  gra- 
tuitous assertion  that  these  accounts  of  Christ 
and  his  religion,  in  the  incipient  stages  of  its 
progress,  must  have  been  prepared  and  pub- 
lished long  after  the  date  usually  assigned 
them.  To  this  supposititious  theory  we  have 
several  objections,  one  or  two  of  which  we 
will  state  very  briefly.  In  the  first  place, 
we  have  not  only  the  testimony  of  the  earliest 
Christian  fathers,  Barnabas,  Clement,  Her- 
nias, Ignatius  and  Polycarp,  three  of  whom  are 
named  by  the  apostle  Paul  as  his  cotempora- 
ries,  but  we  have  also  the  witness  of  heretical, 
and  of  Jewish  and  heathen  writers,  as  Cerin- 
thus,  Marcion,  Josephus,  Porphyry  and  Cel- 
sus,  &c. ,  to  the  existence  of  the  New  Testament 
Scriptures.  We  have,  in  fact,  an  unbroken, 
close  succession  of  writers  of  various  creeds, 
and  some  of  no  creed,  whose  citations  from  our 
books,  and  comments  upon  them,  and  objec- 
tions to  parts  of  them,  satisfy  our  minds,  be- 


LECTURE  II.  53 

yond  all  doubt,  that  our  gospels  and  epistles 
were  in  being  and  repute,  as  standards  of  the 
facts  and  doctrines  of  Christianity,  from  the 
apostolic  age  down  to  the  end  of  the  fourth 
century,  when  it  became  the  established  re- 
ligion of  the  Roman  empire;  after  which 
time,  spurious  gospels  could  scarcely  by  any 
artifice  of  man  be  introduced  to  public  favour, 
under  the  assumed  names  of  our  apostles  and 
evangelists.  The  time  would  fail  us  to  give 
the  testimony  of  a  tithe  of  the  witnesses  on 
this  point.  Let  a  brief  notice  of  one  of  the 
bitterest  and  most  acute  enemies  of  our  faith, 
suffice  for  the  present.  Celsus  lived  in  the  lat- 
ter half  of  the  second  century,  and  early  in  the 
third.  None  of  his  entire  works  are  known 
to  be  extant;  but  Eusebius,  of  the  fourth  cen- 
tury, has  recorded,  in  his  history,  copious 
fragments  of  them,  which  you  will  find  in 
Lardner,  Michaelis,  Home,  and  other  modern 
writers  of  well  known  repute.  He  mentions 
the  names  of  most  of  the  apostles  and  evan- 
gelists, and  quotes  from  them  pretty  largely 
by  name,  so  as  to  leave  no  doubt  on  any  un- 
biassed mind,  of  their  existence,  in  his  time, 
as  we  have  them  now.  He  never  questions 
the  gospels  as  histories, — and  speaks  of  the 
6 


54  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

persecutions  of  Christians  on  account  of  their 
religion.  He  charges  them  with  altering  the 
gospels,  but  obviously  refers  to  the  Mar- 
cionites,  Yalentinians  and  other  heretics. 
He  says  he  derives  his  arguments  against 
them  from  their  own  acknowledged  stand- 
ards, and  in  no  one  instance  from  spurious 
writings.  He  speaks  in  flattering  terms  of 
Christ,  which  it  is  not  easy  to  reconcile 
with  his  avowed  hostility  to  his  religion  and 
followers;  acknowledges  the  truth  of  his  na- 
tivity, his  flight  into  Egypt,  his  miracles; 
states,  as  we  find  it,  substantially,  in  our  gos- 
pels, that  he  was  betrayed,  scourged  and  cru- 
cified, that  he  drank  vinegar,  and  that,  after 
his  death,  he  appeared  among  his  friends, 
again,  several  times;  mentions  that  he  was 
regarded  as  divine  and  worthy  of  being  wor- 
shipped. True,  he  does  not  profess  to  believe 
most  of  these  things;  but  his  concessions 
clearly  establish  our  position,  that  the  sacred 
writings  were  then  what  they  are  now,  and 
that  they  were  universally  ascribed  to  the 
same  authors.  He  never  pretends  to  deny 
that  our  sacred  books  were  written  by  the 
men  whose  names  are  attached  to  them,  or 
that  the  facts  which  they  narrate  are  unwor- 


LECTURE  II.  55 

thy  of  credit;  yet  his  opportunities  were  good, 
and  his  inclination  to  do  so.  if  he  could  with 
any  colour  of  reason,  will  not  be  doubted. 
His  acuteness  and  learning  are  extolled  by 
gentlemen  of  his  way  of  thinking  in  modern 
times.  They  say  he  was  a  prodigy  in  litera- 
ture, and  a  genuine,  a  profound  philosopher. 
Where,  then,  is  the  evidence,  or  shadow  of 
an  argument,  that  our  gospels  and  epistles 
were  foisted  in  upon  the  world  in  after  ages, 
to  deceive  men?  Yield  yourselves  to  such 
surmises  and  gratuitous  assertions,  and  you 
inevitably  sap  the  foundation  of  all  histori- 
cal belief. 

Another  thing  going  to  prove  the  authen- 
ticity of  these  records  is,  the  absence  of  any 
motive  that  could  have  induced  the  writers 
to  falsify  or  invent  a  fictitious  story.  Men 
do,  indeed,  in  some  cases,  act  from  impulse 
or  whim  for  a  little  while;  some  will  tell  lies 
for  sport,  or  for  gain;  but  you  will  not  find 
them  sitting  down  and  gravely  writing  a 
long,  complex  account  of  visions  and  impres- 
sions which  nobody  but  themselves  can  know 
any  thing  about.  You  do  not  find  men  en- 
gaging in  unpopular  or  unpromising  projects 
without  motives,  and  at  the  risk  of  fortune, 


56  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

fame,  and  life  itself.  Now,  assuming  the  ex- 
istence of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  about  the  time 
specified,  which  we  have  authority  to  do, 
from  the  testimony  of  cotemporary  and  disin- 
terested historians,  what  motive  could  have 
actuated  these  first  Christians,  and  great 
numbers  of  intelligent  people  that  soon  joined 
them,  in  magnifying  their  new  Master,  and 
identifying  themselves  with  his  cause?  Was 
it  gain?  Why,  according  to  their  showing, 
he  advertised  them  that  his  kingdom  was  not 
of  this  world,  that  he  had  neither  wealth 
nor  places  of  power  to  offer  them.  He  states 
candidly  that  he  has  no  home,  not  a  place  to 
lay  lys  head  when  weary  or  aching:  and  he 
admonishes  them  that,  if  they  would  become 
his  disciples  and  adherents,  they  must  expect 
to  be  put  out  of  the  synagogues,  and  driven 
from  their  secular  offices, — that  they  must 
count  upon  the  loss  of  all  their  present 
worldly  advantages;  that  they  must  deny 
themselves  and  take  up  their  cross,  as  he  was 
soon  to  bear  his,  and  follow  him  to  martyr- 
dom. Was  it  fame  ?  But  what  of  this  could 
they  expect,  either  present  or  posthumous, 
from  enlisting  under  the  standard  of  an  ob- 
scure individual,  of  humble  parentage,  with- 


LECTURE  II.  57 

out  friends,  without  power,  and  with  no  show 
of  Jewish  lore  or  Grecian  polish?  How 
could  such  men  foresee  the  growth  of  the 
mustard  seed,  or  the  working  of  the  leaven, 
destined  of  God  to  leaven  the  whole  lump? 
How  could  fishermen,  and  tent-makers,  and 
collectors  of  taxes,  interpret  and  proceed 
upon  the  prophetic  symbol  of  the  little  stone 
cut  out  of  a  mountain,  and  designed  in  due 
time  to  fill  the  world?  It  was  quite  beyond 
their  mental  vision,  unless  taught  and  in- 
spired by  the  only  wise  God;  and,  if  they 
were  taught  and  influenced  by  him,  they  were 
neither  knaves  nor  madmen;  and  their  mo- 
tives must  have  been  as  pure  as  their  doc- 
trines,— the  love  of  truth,  and  of  souls,  and 
of  God. 

Again,  look  at  the  fearless  way  in  which 
these  authors  write;  how  many  snares  they 
lay  for  themselves;  how  freely  they  give  us 
the  names  of  persons  and  places;  how  un- 
guardedly they  talk  about  manners,  and  cus- 
toms, and  institutions;  how  many  things  they 
assume,  as  well  known  to  their  readers;  what 
wonderful  events  they  narrate,  without  a 
note  of  exclamation,  and  with  no  effort  to 
6* 


58  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

meet  objections.  This  looks  like  truth  and 
honesty. 

Observe,  also,  the  style  in  which  they 
write.  It  is  not  florid,  or  in  any  respect  po- 
lished, but  simple,  and  plain,  in  some  in- 
stances almost  to  baldness:  so  little  drapery 
do  some  of  them  use,  that  their  bold  state- 
ments may  well  be  called  the  naked  truth. 
Their  language  is  figurative,  as  we  would 
expect  from  their  oriental  habits  and  associa- 
tions; but  their  figures  and  illustrations  are 
taken  from  common  scenes  and  occupations, 
mountains  and  valleys,  rivers  and  pools, 
rocks  and  caves,  the  harvest  field,  and  the 
vineyard,  the  garden  and  the  fishing-boat, 
with  the  correspondent  employments  of  keep- 
ing the  flocks,  using  the  net,  ploughing,  sow- 
ing and  gathering  the  fruits.  All  this  is  in 
good  keeping  'with  the  character  of  the 
writers,  who  were  obviously  more  intent  on 
things  than  words,  and  who  were  anxious  to 
awaken  and  instruct  men,  rather  than  to 
please  them,  and  catch  their  applause.  This, 
also,  looks  like  honesty  of  purpose,  and  chal- 
lenges confidence  in  their  communications. 

The  sort  of  Greek  which  they  use,  is  ano- 
ther mark  of  the  truth  and  authenticity  of 


LECTURE  II.  59 

their  writings;  for,  except  the  gospel  by 
Matthew,  and  the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews, 
which  some  critics  think  were  originally 
written  in  a  dialect  of  Hebrew,  but  soon 
translated  into  Greek,  our  authors  wrote  in 
the  Greek  language,  that  being  more  exten- 
sively known  at  the  time  than  any  other. 
But  they  use  not  pure,  classical  Greek,  such 
as  was  spoken  at  Athens,  but  a  dialect  of  it, 
which  might  be  called  Chaldaic- Greek,  re- 
sembling the  language  of  Judea,  after  the  re- 
turn from  the  Babylonian  captivity.  We  are 
often  told,  what  no  scholar  denies,  that  the 
New  Testament  is  not  pure  Greek,  and  for 
this  reason  some  exclude  it  from  our  classical 
schools.  Be  it  so.  We  had  rather  have  it 
so,  than  want  the  evidence  it  affords  of  the 
truth  and  honesty  of  the  sacred  writers.  Their 
Greek  abounds  in  Hebraisms;  phraseology 
and  allusions  which  prove  that  the  writers 
were  more  familiar  with  the  language  and 
usages  of  Palestine  than  of  Attica.  This  pe- 
culiarity in  their  language  gives  proof  that 
they  were,  what  they  say  they  were,  plain 
men,  and  raised  among  a  plain,  industrious 
people.  Had  it  been  otherwise,  had  our 
Testament  been  written  in  the  beautiful  style 


60  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

of  Plato  or  Aristotle,  it  would  have  thrown 
a  shade  of  suspicion  over  it.  We  should 
then  have  been  told,  with  triumph  and  taunt- 
ing, that  it  must  have  been  a  compilation  by 
some  artful  Grecian  scholar,  for  that  it  could 
not  be  the  production  of  such  men  as  Mat- 
thew the  publican,  and  John  and  James,  the 
sons  of  Zebedee,  the  fishermen  of  Galilee. 

Another  question,  and  we  will  dismiss  this 
branch  of  the  subject,  and  conclude  our  pre- 
sent lecture :  are  these  writings  the  same  now 
as  when  they  were  first  admitted  into  the  sa- 
cred canon?  Have  they  come  down  to  us 
entire  and  unadulterated  ?  Here  a  wide  field 
opens  upon  us,  had  we  time  to  survey  it,  but 
we  have  not  at  present.  We  may  look  into  it 
on  another  occasion;  but  a  brief  remark  or 
two  will  suffice,  in  this  connection.  We  re- 
mark, in  the  first  place,  that  as  the  autographs 
of  these  documents  were  in  manuscript,  for  you 
know  the  art  of  printing  was  then  unknown, 
copies  could  not  be  multiplied  anything  like  so 
rapidly  as  they  can  now,  by  means  of  the  press. 
To  transcribe  such  a  piece  as  the  gospel  by 
Matthew,  for  instance,  was  a  work  of  consi- 
derable labour,  and  would  hardly  be  under- 
taken on  individual  responsibility.    It  would 


LECTURE  II.  .61 

be  under  the  eye  and  auspices  of  some  church, 
and  it  would  undoubtedly  be  subjected  to 
strict  scrutiny  and  comparison  with  the  ori- 
ginal, before  it  would  be  allowed  to  be  read 
in   the    religious    meetings.     Adulteration, 
therefore,  was  not  likely  to  take  place.     A 
copy  of  the  gospels,  to  say  nothing  of  the  Acts 
and  Epistles,  was  a  matter  of  heavy  expense. 
A  cow  or  a  horse  could  be  procured  at  much 
less  cost  than  a  copy  of  the  New  Testament. 
It  should  be  recollected  that  within  twenty 
years  after  the  Saviour's  ascension,  churches 
were  formed  in  most  of  the  chief  towns  in  the 
Roman  Empire.     In  these  societies,  each  gos- 
pel or  epistle  that  made  its  appearance  under 
the  seal  of  the  inspired  writer,  was  regarded 
as  of  the  highest  authority,  and  would,  of 
course,  be  guarded  and  preserved  from  cor- 
ruption with  religious  care.     During  the  au- 
thor's life,  an  imperfect  copy  could  scarcely 
get  into  circulation,  for  every  one  would  na- 
turally be  submitted  to  his  inspection. 

We  remark,  secondly,  that  the  early  Chris- 
tians were  deeply  concerned  to  guard  against 
any  mutilation  or  change  in  the  text  of  the 
sacred  books.  They  clung  to  these  writings 
as  communications  from   God  the   Saviour; 


62  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

they  viewed  them  as  the  ground  of  their  faith, 
and  the  charter  of  their  most  precious  hopes; 
so  that  even  after  the  death  of  the  apostles 
their  adulteration  is  scarcely  conceivable. 
The  primitive  disciples  were  cast  off.  and 
every  where  spoken  against  by  the  world 
around  them.  Persecutors  and  gainsayers 
were  on  the  alert  for  occasion  against  them 
and  their  new  religion,  as  it  was  called.  Had 
they  permitted  mutilated  and  conflicting  co- 
pies of  their  sacred  books  to  get  abroad,  it 
would  have  placed  in  the  hands  of  their  ad- 
versaries a  weapon  which  would  have  been 
used  with  prodigious  effect  to  impair  their 
credit,  and  to  arrest  the  progress  of  their  prin- 
ciples. They  must,  therefore,  have  watched 
the  purity  of  their  inspired  records  with  all 
imaginable  jealousy  and  care,  and  to  this  ef- 
fect, we  have  a  mass  of  testimony  which  we 
have  not  room  here  to  recite. 

And,  when,  in  process  of  time,  heretics  arose 
and  began  to  take  sacrilegious  liberties  with 
the  sacred  books,  rejecting  some,  and  inter- 
polating their  own  glosses  in  others,  the 
many  correct  copies  in  use  in  the  churches, 
would  furnish  the  ready  means  of  staying  the 
corruption.     Tertullian,  who  was  born  about 


LECTURE  II.  63 

sixty  years  after  the  death  of  the  apostle 
John,  tells  us  that  some  of  the  autograph  ma- 
nuscripts, i.  e.  the  originals,  were  to  be  seen 
in  his  day.  In  his  work*  on  heresy,  he  uses 
this  spirited  exhortation :  "  Come,  thou  who 
wouldst  exercise  thyself  profitably  about  thy 
salvation,  go  through  the  apostolic  churches, 
in  which  the  very  chairs  of  the  apostles  still 
preside,  in  which  their  authentic  letters  are 
recited,  sounding  forth  the  voice,  and  repre- 
senting the  countenance  of  each." 

When  we  come  to  the  middle  of  the  fourth 
century,  and  find  the  churches  divided  into 
two  great  sects,  the  Eastern  and  Western, 
here  we  find  a  mutual  preventive  to  the  mu- 
tilation of  the  revealed  word.  The  parties 
were  a  check  upon  one  another.  How  won- 
derful is  the  providence  of  God !  And  from 
this  time,  downward  to  our  own  time,  what  a 
shield  do  we  see  held  over,  what  a  strong 
wall  erected  around,  the  holy  writings,  in  the 
numerous  sects  into  which  Christendom  has 
been  riven  by  the  pride  and  self-will  of  her 
ministers,  chiefly.  Let  us,  then,  revere  the 
Lord's  hand  in  the  preservation  of  his  own 


*  Chap.  36. 


64  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

truth.  The  preservation  of  our  blessed  book 
through  the  lapse  of  eighteen  centuries  is  it- 
self one  of  the  many  and  decisive  evidences 
of  its  divine  origin.  No  human  production  on 
earth,  of  so  remote  an  age,  can  produce  a 
tenth  part  of  the  proof  of  its  genuine  author- 
ship, that  supports  the  claims  of  this  Book  of 
books  to  a  divine  source. 

We  have  seen  that  its  immediate  writers 
were  in  a  situation  to  judge  of  the  truth  of 
the  facts  and  doctrines  which  it  details — that 
they  were  honest  and  truthful  men, — that 
they  could  have  no  rational  inducement  to 
falsify  or  veil  the  truth, — that  they  sacrificed 
all  temporal  advantages,  and  counted  not 
their  lives  too  high  a  price  to  pay  for  its 
maintenance.  We  have  marked  the  harmony 
of  its  parts;  we  have  seen  the  hand  of  God  in 
its  transmission  to  us,  without  material  altera- 
tion, and  with  his  seal  and  sanction  upon  it; 
we  will,  therefore,  by  God's  help,  receive  it, 
and  use  it,  and  send  it,  if  we  can,  to  all  man- 
kind, not  as  the  word  of  man,  but,  as  it  is  in- 
deed, the  word  of  God,  that  liveth  and  abideth 
for  ever.  It  is  not  the  work  of  men,  to  de- 
ceive their  fellow  men.     It  is  the  word  of  sal- 


LECTURE  II.  65 

vation  from  the  God  of  truth  and  love ;  or,  in 
the  language  of  the  poet: 

•'  Whence,  indeed, 
But  from  Heaven,  should  men  unskilPd  in  arts, 
In  different  ages  born,  in  different  parts, 
Weave  such  agreeing  truths'?  or  how?  or  why- 
Should  all  conspire  to  cheat  us  with  a  lie  ? 
Unask'd  their  pains,  ungrateful  their  advice; 
Starving,  their  gains,  and  martyrdom,  their  price.7' 

(Dryden.) 


66  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


LECTURE   III 


INSPIRATION. 


Haying  seen,  in  the  preceding  lecture,  that 
the  sacred  writings  are  the  genuine  produc- 
tions of  the  authors  whose  names  they  bear, 
and  that  they  are  authentic  and  worthy  of 
credit,  we  will  now  proceed  to  the  considera- 
tion of  their  authority  in  all  matters  of  faith 
and  practice :  for  a  book  may  be  genuine  and 
authentic,  and  entitled  to  belief  as  to  its  his- 
torical statements  and  the  doctrines  taught 
by  public  teachers  whom  it  undertakes  to 
celebrate,  and  yet  have  no  just  claim  to  con- 
trol our  judgment,  regulate  our  conduct,  or 
bind  our  conscience  in  questions  of  morality 
and  religion.  Honest  and  intelligent  writers 
may  err;  they  may  form  erroneous  opinions 
respecting  matters  that  have  come  under  their 
observation;  they  may  be  influenced  by  pre- 
judice unconsciously,  and  may  misunderstand 
or  misrepresent  facts,  or  the  characters  of 


LECTURE  III.  67 

persons  of  whom  they  have  occasion  to  speak, 
through  the  weakness  and  fallibility  of  the 
human  mind,  without  special  divine  guidance. 
It  is  inspiration,  therefore,  that  gives  to  these 
writings  their  peculiar  authority  over  the 
faith  and  practice  and  conscience  of  mankind. 
Of  this  we  are  now  to  speak;  and  our  remarks 
apply  to  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament 
as  well  as  to  those  of  the  New  Testament, 
although  we  shall  confine  ourselves  mainly  to 
the  latter,  for  reasons  heretofore  stated. 

By  inspiration,  we  "  mean  such  a  communi- 
cation, by  the  Spirit  of  God,  to  the  minds  of 
the  sacred  writers,  of  those  things  which 
could  not  have  been  otherwise  known,  and 
such  superintendence  in  regard  to  particulars 
concerning  which  they  might  otherwise  obtain 
information,  as  was  sufficient  to  preserve  them 
from  error,  in  all  things  which  could  in  the 
least  affect  any  of  the  doctrines  or  precepts 
contained  in  their  writings,  or  mislead  any 
person  who  considered  them  as  a  divine  and 
infallible  standard  of  truth  and  duty."  It 
may  be  divided,  for  the  sake  of  convenience, 
into  the  inspiration  of  suggestion  and  that  of 
supervision:  suggestion,  in  reference  to  what 
could  not  be  otherwise  known,  and  supervision 


68  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

or  guidance,  in  regard  to  what  might,  with 
some  degree  of  certainty,  be  known  by  other 
means.  This  distinction,  however,  is  not  es- 
sential. What  we  want  is,  satisfactory  evi- 
dence that  God  so  enlightened,  guided  and 
guarded  the  writers,  that  we  have  in  the  Bible 
an  infallible  and  sufficient  rule  of  faith  and 
practice,  or,  in  other  words,  that  its  contents 
were  dictated  and  secured  to  us  by  the  Crea- 
tor in  his  infinite  wisdom  and  goodness,  so 
that,  in  placing  full  confidence  in  its  teach- 
ings and  promises,  we  are  in  no  danger  of 
being  deceived  or  disappointed. 

Now  that  such  a  communication  is  possible, 
necessary,  and  desirable,  was  demonstrated 
in  our  introductory  remarks;  and,  in  our 
second  lecture,  we  endeavoured  to  show  that 
the  writers  of  the  New  Testament  are  worthy 
of  credit;  that  they  were  men  of  good  sense 
and  pure  intentions,  and  that  their  statements 
respecting  Christ  and  his  doctrines  may  be 
relied  on,  as  true  and  faithful.  If,  then,  we 
believe  them  in  other  matters,  we  must,  to  be 
consistent,  believe  them  in  what  they  say 
about  inspiration.  Let  us  hear  how  they  talk, 
and  how  they  make  their  Master  speak  on  this 
subject.     But,  before  going  directly  to  their 


LECTURE  III.  69 

avowal  of  special  divine  influence,  let  us  ob- 
serve, that  Christ  and  his  apostles  do  une- 
quivocally and  repeatedly  recognize  and  cite 
the  writings  of  the  OM  Testament,  as  in- 
spired and  authoritative.  We  learn  from  Jo- 
sephus  and  other  reliable  sources,  that,  the 
Jews,  in  the  time  of  Christ,  regarded  the 
books  of  Moses  and  the  prophets  as  the  ora- 
cles of  God.  They  did,  indeed,  misinterpret 
them,  and  place  their  oral  traditions,  practi- 
cally, on  a  par  with  them ;  but  they  acknow- 
ledged them  as  the  statutes,  the  testimonies, 
and  laws  of  the  Lord :  calling  them  by  the 
most  honourable  names,  as  the  Scriptures — 
Holy  Scriptures,  &c.  Josephus  says  that 
they  were  universally  believed  to  have  been 
written  by  men  who  received  them  from  God 
himself  by  inspiration,  and  were  justly  be- 
lieved to  be  divine.  "How  firmly  we  have 
given  credit  to  these  books,  he  adds,  is  evi- 
dent from  what  we  do;  for,  during  so  many 
ages  as  have  passed  since  they  were  given  to 
our  nation,  no  one  has  been  so  bold  as  to  add 
any  thing  to  them,  or  take  any  thing  from 
them,  or  make  any  change  in  them;  but  it  is 
natural  to  all  Jews,  even  from  their  birth,  to 
esteem  those  books  to  contain  divine  doc- 
7* 


70  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

trines,  and  to  persist  in  them,  and,  if  occasion 
be,  to  die  for  them.  "  Now,  while  Christ  fear- 
lessly rebuked  the  Jews  for  making  the  word 
of  God  of  none  effect,  through  their  tradi- 
tions, neither  he  nor  his  apostles  drop  a  hint 
that  they  were  in  error  in  esteeming  the  Old 
Testament  Scriptures  to  be  divinely  inspired, 
or  allowing  them  too  much  authority.  On 
the  contrary,  the  Saviour  exhorts  them  to 
search  their  Scriptures,  because  they  testified 
of  him,  and  contained  the  words  of  eternal 
life.  What  Moses  wrote  in  the  Pentateuch, 
Christ  says,  was  spoken  by  God.  "Have  ye 
never  read  that  which  was  spoken  to  you  by 
God,  saying,  I  am  the  God  of  Abraham,  and 
the  God  of  Isaac,  and  the  God  of  Jacob?" 
So,  what  David  wrote  in  the  Psalms,  and 
Isaiah,  in  his  prophecies,  are  said  to  have  been 
spoken  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  And  what  says 
Peter  respecting  the  Jewish  prophets?  Does 
he  not  assert,  that,  what  they  uttered  was  by 
the  Spirit  of  Christ  speaking  in  them  ?  And 
that  they  wrote,  not  according  to  their  own 
will,  but  as  they  were  moved  or  inspired  by 
the  Holy  Ghost,  "Searching  what,  or  what 
manner  of  time  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  which 
was  in  them,  did  signify,  when  it  testified  be- 


LECTURE  III.  71 

forehand  the  sufferings  of  Christ  and  the 
glory  that  should  follow."  "The  prophecy 
came  not,  in  old  time,  by  the  will  of  man; 
but  holy  men  of  God  spake  as  they  were 
moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost."  And  the  decla- 
ration of  Paul  is,  if  possible,  more  full  and 
explicit.  In  one  of  his  letters  to  Timothy, 
after  reminding  him,  that,  from  a  child,  he 
had  known  the  Scriptures  which  were  able 
to  make  him  wise  unto  salvation,  through 
faith  in  Christ  Jesus,  he  says,  "All  Scrip- 
ture is  given  by  inspiration  of  God,  and  is 
profitable,"  &c.  These  testimonies  are  surely 
sufficient  and  conclusive,  as  regards  the  Scrip- 
tures of  the  Old  Testament.  Pass  we,  then, 
to  the  consideration  of  the  New  Testament. 
And,  here,  we  might  fairly  infer  the  inspi- 
ration of  the  latter  from  that  of  the  former, 
by  reasoning  from  analogy.  The  two  Testa- 
ments constitute  the  sacred  canon.  Is  the 
one  part  inspired,  and  the  other  nbt?  Can 
it  be,  that  the  communications  made  under 
the  former  dispensation,  which  was  tempo- 
rary, and  in  great  measure  shadowy  and  typi- 
cal, were  dictated  by  God,  and  that  those  of 
the  present  dispensation,  which  is  to  continue 
to  the  end  of  time,  stand  on  mere  human  au- 


72  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

thority?  It  is,  to  say  the  least,  highly  im- 
probable. But  we  have  more  than  analogy 
in  support  of  the  divine  authority  of  the  New 
Testament  Scriptures. 

I.  We  have  large  promises  of  Christ  to  his 
apostles,  of  ample  qualifications  for  their  mi- 
nisterial work ;  and,  especially,  the  promise 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  as  a  Spirit  of  truth,  by 
whose  influence  they  should  be  able  rightly 
to  understand,  and  faithfully  to  publish  the 
gospel  message.   Look  at  these  promises,  how 
full  and  comprehensive  they  are.     Fear  not, 
says  the  divine  Master  to  the  timid  and  feeble 
band  of  disciples,  as  they  go  forth  to  the  res- 
cue of  a  world  lying  in  sin,  "I  will  give  you 
a  mouth  and  wisdom  which  your  adversaries 
can  neither  gainsay  nor  resist.     The  Spirit 
shall  take  of  mine  and  show  it  unto  you; 
shall  bring  all  things  to  your  remembrance, 
whatsoever  I  have  said  unto  you ;  he  shall 
teach  you  all  things,  and  show  you  things  to 
come,  and  abide  with  you  for  ever."     Thus, 
the  Spirit  is  guarantied  to  them,  to  enlighten, 
encourage,  and  sustain  them  in  the  mighty 
conflict;  and  he  is  to  abide  with  them,  to  be 
at  hand  in  all  emergencies,  and  unfold  to  them 
the  mysteries  of  the  kingdom,  as  they  could 


LECTURE  III. 


73 


bear  it:  "I  have  yet  many  things  to  say  unto 
you,  but  ye  cannot  bear  them  now;  howbeit, 
when  the  Spirit  of  truth  is  come,  he  will  guide 
you  into  all  the  truth."     Mark  another  pro- 
mise, adapted  to  an  occasion  that  often  oc- 
curred :  "  When  they  bring  you  unto  tie  syna- 
gogues, and  unto  magistrates  and  powers,  take 
ye  no  thought  how,  or  what  thing  ye  shall 
answer,  or  what  ye  shall  say;  for  the  Holy 
Ghost  shall  teach  you,  in  the  same  hour,  what 
ye  ought  to  say:  for  it  is  not  ye  that  speak, 
but  the  Spirit  of  your  Father  which  speaketh 
in  you."     Here  we  have  "the  nature  of  in- 
spiration  incidentally   disclosed;    it  is   the 
Spirit  of  God  speaking  in  or  by  an  apostle." 
II.  Let  us  notice  the  fulfilment  of  these 
ample  promises,  particularly  on  the  day  of 
Pentecost,  at  the  opening  of  the  evangelical 
dispensation;  and,  let  us  recollect  what  the 
apostles  were  before  this  memorable  day  of 
their  endowment;   how  full  of  doubts  and 
wrong  notions  about  their  Lord's  kingdom; 
and  mark  the  sudden  change  which  they  un- 
dergo, both  as  to  their  views  of  the  gospel 
plan  and  qualifications  for  the  arduous  work 
to  which  they  had  been  called.     The  twelve 
are  assembled,  waiting  for  the  fulfilment  of 


74  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

the  promise.  The  day  arrives,  the  room, 
where  they  were  holding  a  prayer-meeting,  is 
suddenly  shaken;  the  Spirit  descends  upon 
them,  in  his  miraculous  power,  under  the  sym- 
bol of  a  lambent  flame  of  fire;  they  instantly 
begin  to  speak  in  new  tongues ;  unlettered  as 
they  were ;  they  publish  the  glad  tidings  in 
the  various  dialects  of  the  congregated  mul- 
titude, with  a  freedom  and  boldness  entirely 
superhuman.  New  and  enlarged  views  of 
the  stupendous  scheme  of  redeeming  love 
open  upon  their  mental  vision ;  the  gifts  of 
healing,  and  the  power  of  discerning  spirits 
attend  their  labours,  as  the  credentials  of 
their  embassy.  Here  you  see  the  apostles 
fully  endowed  for  the  work  of  the  ministry ; 
and  can  you  suppose  that,  when  they  sat  down 
to  write  their  narratives  and  epistles  for  the 
instruction  of  mankind  in  all  future  time, 
they  were  left  to  their  own  erring  judgment 
and  unaided  powers?  It  is  not  credible.  The 
word  preached,  if  unheeded,  passes  away; 
but,  written,  it  abideth  for  the  use  and  bene- 
fit of  generations.  If  it  behoved  to  be  first 
preached  by  divine  inspiration,  surely  it  is 
reasonable  as  well  as  scriptural,  to  believe 
that  it  was  recorded  under  the  influence  and 
by  the  dictation  of  the  same  infallible  guide. 


LECTURE  III.  75 

3.  Take  the  case  of  Paul,  who,  you  know, 
was  soon  added  to  the  little  band  of  primitive 
ministers  of  the  word.  According  to  his  own 
account,  he  was  arrested  miraculously  and  in 
mercy,  while  on  his  way  to  Damascus  a  blas- 
phemer of  Christ,  and  a  persecutor  of  his 
disciples.  He  saw  the  Lord  Jesus,  in  a  divine 
vision — heard  his  voice  of  rebuke,  and  felt 
his  saving  power — he  was  not  disobedient  to 
the  heavenly  vision — having  received  a  full 
revelation  of  the  Christian  system,  from  the 
Saviour  himself,  without  consulting  flesh  and 
blood,  he  bears  it  straightway  to  the  Gentiles 
— goes,  in  due  time,  to  Jerusalem — joins  the 
church  on  examination — is  soon  called  of  God 
into  Europe — visits  Philippi  of  Macedonia, 
where  he  is  arrested  and  imprisoned  unjustly ; 
but  is  soon  released  by  an  earthquake — goes 
forth  in  all  directions,  preaching  the  gospel 
and  founding  churches,  the  Lord  attesting 
and  sealing  his  ministry,  by  signs  and  won- 
ders surpassing  all  the  skill  and  power  of 
man. 

Now  are  we  to  believe  that,  when  this  man 
of  God  wrote  his  fourteen  Epistles,  which 
form  so  large  and  so  important  a  portion  of 
the  sacred  rule  of  Christian  faith  and  duty, 


76  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

the  Spirit  left  him  to  lean  upon  his  own  re- 
sources, at  the  imminent  hazard  of  mixing 
up  human  error  with  divine  truth,  designed 
for  the  edification  of  the  church  to  the  end 
of  the  world  ?  It  would  be  contrary  to  rea- 
sonable expectation,  and  in  the  face  of  all 
the  known  analogies  of  God's  government  of 
mankind.  Divine  assistance  is  usually  adapted 
to  man's  necessities;  and  if,  in  any  thing,  spe- 
cial inspiration  was  needed,  we  would  suppose 
it  was  in  preparing  a  book  according  to  which 
men  are  expected  to  believe,  and  live,  and  be 
finally  judged. 

4.  But  let  us,  in  the  next  place,  see  what 
the  apostles  themselves  claim  for  their  writ- 
ten communications,  whether  narrative  or 
epistolary.  Take  the  decision  of  the  council 
or  synod  at  Jerusalem,  on  the  question  car- 
ried up  from  Antioch,  respecting  the  obliga- 
tion of  certain  Mosaic  rites  upon  Christians. 
In  the  brief  preamble  of  that  decision,  Acts 
xv.  28,  you  find  these  words:  " It  seemed  good 
to  the  Holy  Ghost  and  to  us"  &c.  This  writ- 
ten decree,  then,  which  is  incorporated  with 
their  other  writings  in  the  New  Testament, 
was  enacted  under  the  sanction  and  with  the 
approbation  of  the  Holy  Spirit;  that  is,  it  is 


LECTURE  III.  77 

inspired.  Now  turn  to  the  close  of  Paul's 
epistle  to  the  Romans:  "Now  to  him  that  is 
of  power  to  establish  you,  according  to  my 
gospel"  that  is,  my  gospel  written  in  this  let- 
ter, for  he  goes  on,  "  and  the  preaching  of 
Jesus  Christ,  according  to  the  revelation  of 
the  mystery,  which  was  kept  secret  since  the 
world  began;  but  now  is  made  manifest,  and 
by  the  scriptures  of  the  prophets,  according 
to  the  commandment  of  the  everlasting  God; 
made  known  to  all  nations  for  the  obedience 
of  faith;  to  God  only  wise,  be  glory,  through 
Jesus  Christ,  for  ever !  Amen."  This  is  plain 
enough;  Paul's  gospel  in  this  epistle  is  on  a 
par  with  the  scriptures  of  the  prophets,  and 
in  accordance  with  the  commandment  of  the 
everlasting  God,  and,  therefore,  inspired. 

Look  at  his  epistle  to  the  Galatians,  i.  6 — - 
8, 11,  12.  "I  marvel  that  ye  are  so  soon  re- 
moved from  him  that  called  you  into  the 
grace  of  Christ  unto  another  gospel :  which 
i3  not  another;  but  there  be  some  that  trouble 
you,  and  would  pervert  the  gospel  of  Christ. 
But  though  we,  or  an  angel  from  heaven, 
preach  any  other  gospel  unto  you  than  that 
which  we  have  preached  unto  you,  let  him 
be  accursed.  But  I  certify  you,  brethren, 
8 


78  EVIDENCES  OP  CHRISTIANITY. 

that  the  gospel  which  was  preached  by  me  is 
not  after  man ;  for  I  neither  received  it  of 
man,  neither  was  I  taught  it,  but  by  the  reve- 
lation of  Jesus  Christ.11  Here  Paul  asserts 
that  he  received  his  gospel  directly  from 
Christ, — that  it  is  the  only  true  gospel, — and 
denounces  a  curse  on  the  man  who  would 
pervert  it,  or  introduce  any  thing  in  its  stead 
among  the  churches,  and  most  emphatically 
declares  that  by  means  of  his  gospel,  the  Ga- 
latian  Christians  had  been  called  into  the 
grace  of  Christ.  But  where  is  his  gospel,  if 
not  in  his  epistles?  Surely  he  would  not 
preach  one  doctrine  and  write  another.  Does 
not  this  show  his  persuasion  that  he  wrote 
under  the  moving  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  that 
his  letters,  no  less  than  his  preaching,  were 
inspired  ? 

Read  the  epistles  of  John,  and  you  will 
find  similar  claims  to  divine  authority,  for 
what  he  wrote.  Read  in  his  Apocalypse  the 
short  but  powerful  letters  to  the  seven  Asiatic 
churches,  which  you  will  observe  he  was  com- 
manded by  Christ  to  write.  "  To  the  angel 
of  the  church  in  Bphesus,  write  these  things," 
&c,  and  at  the  conclusion  of  each  letter  we 
have  this  solemn  charge :  "  He  that  hath  an 


LECTURE  III.  79 

ear,  let  him  hear  what  the  Spirit  saith  unto 
the  churches."  The  Spirit,  then,  dictated 
what  the  apostle  wrote  to  these  churches;  but 
the  dictation  of  the  Spirit  is  inspiration,  and 
these  epistles  are  embodied  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament. We  may  not  protract  this  article  by- 
further  references;  you  see  the  design:  it  is 
to  show  that  the*sacred  writers  deemed  them- 
selves inspired,  and  claimed  for  their  produc- 
tions the  respect  and  reverence  due  to  the  in- 
fallible oracles  of  God. 

This  subject  of  inspiration  is  one  on  which 
we  keep  within  the  leaves  of  the  Bible,  in 
search  of  evidence.  It  is  a  doctrine,  or  rather 
a  matter  of  consciousness  to  the  subjects  of 
it,  about  which  no  other  person  can  give  any 
testimony  of  much  value.  No  man  can  be 
absolutely  certain  that  another  is  inspired. 
We  may,  however,  arrive  at  a  high  degree 
of  moral  certainty,  by  attending  closely  to 
the  general  character,  the  motives,  the  ends, 
the  spirit,  the  truthfulness,  the  intelligence, 
&c.,ofthe  individual  professing  to  be  inspired. 
We  have  a  right,  too,  to  demand  his  creden- 
tials, if  he  come  to  us  with  an  alleged  mes- 
sage from  God,  and  if  these  be  submitted  to 
our  inspection,  and  appear  to  be  full  and 
authentic,  we  are  obliged,  by  the  laws  of  evi- 


80  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

dence,  to  recognize  him  as  an  ambassador. 
Now  all  these  favourable  indications  meet  in 
the  case  of  the  men  under  consideration.  We 
have  not  yet  looked  into  their  credentials; 
but  we  have  found  them,  on  examining  their 
writings,  and  hearing  the  testimony  of  some 
of  their  cotemporaries  concerning  them,  to  be 
worthy  of  confidence  in  other  matters,  and 
there  appears  no  good  reason  why  we  should 
not  give  them  credit,  when  they  tell  us  that 
they  were  employed  and  moved  by  the  Holy 
Spirit  to  write  a  book  which  has  come  down 
to  us  through  the  hands  of  many  generations, 
and  all  along  been  regarded  by  many  com- 
petent judges  as  containing  a  revelation  from 
God.  And  if  upon  examining  the  evidence 
of  their  mission,  as  we  purpose  doing  in  our 
next  two  lectures,  it  appears  to  be  clear  and 
unsuspicious,  we  shall  certainly  feel  under 
moral  obligation  to  receive  their  communi- 
cations, as  the  oracles  of  divine  truth. 

Of  the  nature  of  inspiration,  we  know  no- 
thing but  what  the  scriptures  teach  us.  Of  the 
mode,  or  process  of  operation,  we  know  lite- 
rally nothing,  for  we  are  taugh  tnothing ;  and, 
in  our  present  imperfect  state  we  are,  perhaps, 
incapable  of  being  taught  anything  more  than 


LECTURE  III.  81 

the  fact.  This  we  can  believe  on  testimony; 
and  the  belief  of  it  seems  essential  to  the  idea 
of  a  perfect  book,  in  which  we  may  repose 
entire  confidence.  Without  such  a  guide,  we 
are  out  at  sea,  with  neither  pole-star  nor  com- 
pass, and  must  be  in  doubt  and  jeopardy  every 
hour.  "  If,"  in  the  language  of  Dr.  Knapp, 
"  the  apostles  did  not  enjoy  that  high  divine 
influence  called  inspiration,  we  might  be 
easily  disturbed  by  the  doubt,  whether  they 
rightly  understood,  and  taught  this  and  the 
other  doctrine  of  the  Christian  religion;  whe- 
ther, for  example,  their  faithful  attachment 
to  Christ,  their  love  to  his  person,  and  pro- 
found reverence  for  his  character,  did  not  be- 
tray them  unintentionally  and  unconsciously 
into  mistaken  and  exaggerated  views  con- 
cerning his  person,  his  divinity,  and  his  glory, 
in  his  state  of  exaltation.  It  would  be  easy, 
in  this  way,  if  no  inspiration  of  the  Bible  were 
admitted,  to  render  doubtful  the  most  impor- 
tant doctrines  of  Christianity.  This  is  what 
has  been  done,  especially  in  modern  times,  by 
those  who  deny  inspiration."  Some  things  in 
the  scriptures,  it  is  plain,  could  not  have  been 
known,  but  by  the  direct  teachings  of  the 
omniscient  God.  The  work  of  creation,  for 
8* 


82  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

instance,  its  order,  and  the  time  occupied  in 
that  prodigious  effect  of  creative  power,  could 
not,  possibly,  be  known  to  Moses  or  any  other 
writer,  but  by  suggestion  from  the  Creator 
himself;  for  there  were  then  no  living,  hu- 
man witnesses  to  attest  the  fact:  and  all  mo- 
numents must  have  been  swept  away  by  the 
universal  deluge.  Neither  could  future,  and 
far  distant  events — many  of  them  quite  be- 
yond human  calculation,  and  unlikely  to  occur 
in  the  ordinary  course  of  nature,  have  been 
foretold,  without  the  like  divine  teaching. 
In  the  former  case,  our  confidence  in  the  nar- 
rative rests  entirely  on  the  fact  of  the  writer's 
inspiration,  &c.;  so  also,  in  the  latter,  except 
in  so  far  as  the  predictions  have  been  fulfilled; 
and,  then,  we  infer  the  inspiration  of  the  pro- 
phets from  the  accomplishment  of  their  an- 
nouncements. So  in  regard  to  doctrines,  be- 
yond the  reach  of  man's  unaided  powers  of 
discovery;  such  as  redemption  by  the  incar- 
nate Son  of  God,  a  future  state,  and  a  final 
judgment.  In  all  these,  and  the  like  cases, 
where  the  ordinary  means  of  information  fail, 
the  ideas,  certainly,  and  the  language,  pro- 
bably, must  have  been  conveyed  to  the  minds 
of  men  by  the  suggestive  inspiration  of  God. 


LECTURE  III.  83 

In  regard  to  historical  matters — facts  and 
events,  which  come  under  the  cognizance  of 
our  senses,  but  which  may  be  misunderstood 
by  erring  mortals,  even  when  their  intentions 
are  pure,  the  inspiration  of  superintendence 
seems  indispensable,  in  order  to  secure  a  sys- 
tem of  truth  worthy  of  the  faith  and  obedience 
of  mankind.  In  such  a  mass  of  various  mat- 
ters as  the  Bible  contains,  how  could  we  ex- 
pect to  find  truth  unmixed  with  the  faults 
common  to  all  human  productions — just  what 
we  need — enough — and  none  too  much  to 
afford  us  the  means  of  a  right  faith,  and  a 
proper  regulation  of  our  conduct  in  all  the 
relations  of  life,  without  supposing  the  super- 
vision and  guidance  of  unerring  wisdom  and 
infinite  goodness?  Indeed,  the  doctrine  of 
inspiration  is  so  interlinked  with  all  the  ar- 
guments and  evidences  in  favour  of  divine 
revelation — it  is  so  inwrought  into  the  entire 
web  of  revealed  religion,  that  if  you  erase 
it,  you  will  find  the  mutilated  fabric  that  re- 
mains, will  not  shield  you  from  the  harass- 
ing doubts  and  tormenting  fears,  which  must, 
at  times,  disturb  your  peace  and  mar  your 
happiness,  upon  finding  yourselves  here,  and 
such  as  you  are,  without  knowing,  of  a  cer~ 


84  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

tainty,  whence  you  came,  and  how  you  became 
such  creatures  as  you  are — whither  you  are 
tending,  and  what  will  become  of  you  when 
you  go  hence.  Now  in  our  sacred  book  we 
find  a  religion  that  suits  us;  that  lets  us  know 
our  origin;  the  reason  of  our  sorrows,  &c; 
points  out  a  way  in  which  these  sorrows  may 
be  cured;  a  religion  which  certainly  bears 
some  strong  marks  of  truth;  a  religion  which 
spreads  light  across  the  valley  of  death,  and 
cheers  us  with  a  hope  of  life  and  glory  be- 
yond the  precincts  of  time,  through  a  media- 
tor. The  writers  of  this  book  claim  for  it 
divine  authority;  they  assure  us  they  were 
moved  by  the  Holy  One  to  pen  this  volume 
for  our  use  and  guidance:  and,  finding  them 
competent  and  truth-telling  witnesses  in  other 
respects,  we  believe  them  in  this;  and  there- 
fore receive  their  writings  as  the  inspired 
word  of  God,  till  we  see  good  reason  to  lay  it 
aside,  or  find  something  better  to  put  in  its 
place.  This  is  the  sum  and  substance  of  all 
that  we  know  and  profess,  on  the  subject  of 
inspiration.  Let  us,  next,  attend  to  a  few  of 
the  difficulties  which,  at  first  blush,  seem  to 
lie  in  the  way  of  our  reception  of  this  book, 
as  a  communication  from  God,  for  the  govern- 


LECTURE  m.  85 

ment  and  salvation  of  our  race.     To  some, 


these  difficulties  have  appeared  insurmount- 
able, and  been  regarded  as  furnishing  good 
reasons  for  turning  away  from  the  subject 
altogether,  or  for  waging  war  against  its  pre- 
tensions, as  futile  and  deceptive. 

1.  The  first  that  usually  meets  the  inquiring 
mind,  is  its  partial  and  limited  bestowment. 
The  Almighty,  they  tell  us,  is  no  respecter 
of  persons;  if,  therefore,  he  meant  to  give  to 
his  great  family  of  mankind  any  instruction, 
or  means  of  moral  and  religious  improvement, 
beyond  and  above  what  he  has  given  in  the 
light  of  reason  and  the  book  of  nature,  he 
would  have  given  it  to  all  and  every  one;  he 
would  have  written  it  on  the  face  of  the  sky, 
using  the  stars,  or  some  such  brilliant  lights, 
for  letters;  so  that  all,  not  only  might,  but 
must  read  his  law  and  learn  his  grace.  Now 
there  is  a  plausibleness  in  this  supposition, 
at  first  glance;  but  it  is  urged  generally  with 
more  confidence  and  positiveness  than  either 
reason  or  observation  will  warrant.  How  is 
it,  candid  objector,  in  your  book  of  nature, 
with  which  you  profess  to  be  so  well  satisfied? 
Is  there  nothing  there  that  looks  like  divine 
sovereignty,  on  the  part  of  the  author  ?    Are 


86  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

the  endowments  of  individuals  and  the  allot- 
ments of  nations  alike  rich  and  advantageous? 
All  minds  are  not  equally  vigorous  and  ca- 
pable; and,  if  they  were  so  natively,  they 
are  not  favoured  with  equal  means  and  op- 
portunities of  culture.  Some  are  weak,  in 
various  degrees,  even  down  to  idiocy.  Some 
are  born  geniuses;  and  the  hand  of  cultiva- 
tion is  about  them  from  their  cradle,  onward 
and  upward  to  the  high  places  of  science  and 
literature,  of  statesmanship  and  professional 
distinction.  Others  of  humble  origin,  are 
picked  up  as  a  pearl  from  the  mire,  and  che- 
rished by  charity,  or  are  obliged  to  work 
their  own  way  into  usefulness  and  comfort, 
oy  the  sweat  of  their  brow;  yea,  and  in  in- 
stances not  a  few,  at  the  cost  of  health  and 
life  itself. 

The  allotments  of  tribes  and  nations  are 
also  very  different.  Some  have  a  balmy  atmo- 
sphere, and  a  fertile  soil,  with  a  profusion  of 
the  finest  fruits ;  others  occupy  the  frozen  re- 
gions, or  the  burning  sands.  Some  enjoy  the 
conveniences  of  art,  and  the  luxuries  of  re- 
finement; others  remain  in  a  savage,  or  bar- 
barous state  from  age  to  age.  Some  are 
blessed  with  a  well  balanced  and  free  govern- 
ment; others  writhe  under  the  rod  of  des- 


LECTURE  III.  87 

potism,  the  slaves  of  tyrants.  Some  have 
navies  and  armies,  of  force  enough  to  keep 
the  world  in  awe;  others,  as  the  tribes  of 
Africa,  are  hunted  down,  captured,  and  sold 
into  perpetual  bondage,  like  the  beasts  of  the 
forest.  These  inequalities  we  can  bear  with- 
out charging  God  foolishly,  with  injustice  or 
partiality ;  because  he  teaches  us,  in  the  book 
which  we  regard  as  from  him,  that  this  world 
is  but  the  vestibule  of  the  world  to  come, 
where  wisdom,  and  justice,  and  goodness  will 
shine  forth  in  united  splendour;  and  every 
murmur  against  the  King  eternal  will  be 
hushed,  by  a  full  conviction,  in  view  of  the 
final  result,  to  which  he  will  conduct  his  dark 
and  mysterious  dispensations,  that  all  his  way? 
are  right,  and  his  judgments  just.  But  how 
will  the  mortal  Deist  dispose  of  these  appear- 
ances of  partiality  and  injustice,  which  he 
cannot  but  read  in  his  bible  of  nature?  Let 
him  think  well,  and  ponder  his  path,  lest  he 
find  himself,  when  too  late  to  retrace  his  steps, 
pressing  on  the  breaking  margin  of  the  deep, 
dark  gulf  of  hopeless  Atheism.  But  the 
objection  is  utterly  unfounded,  in  our  view, 
as  regards  special  divine  revelation.  We 
hold  that  it  teas  given  to  ail  mankind,  in  the 


88  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

progenitors  of  our  race ;  but  that,  being  mu- 
tilated and  corrupted  by  human  depravity,  it 
became  necessary  to  renew  and  enlarge  it, 
and  present  it  in  a  more  permanent  form. 
Dim  glimmerings  of  primitive  revelation 
reached  the  nations  around,  and  far  beyond 
the  limits  of  the  Holy  Land:  else,  how  can 
you  account  for  the  origin  of  animal  sacri- 
fices, so  extensively  and  profusely  offered  in 
pagan  nations?  "Was  this  a  dictate  of  nature? 
Could  it  have  entered  the  mind  of  man,  with- 
out a  divine  suggestion,  that  the  blood  of 
animals  would  be  of  any  avail  for  the  pardon 
of  sin?  To  us  it  seems  very  unlikely.  In 
our  blessed  book  we  are  assured  that  no  such 
offerings  can  possess  any  inherent  efficacy; 
and  here  we  learn  the  meaning  and  design  of 
these  inferior  sacrifices.  They  shadowed 
forth,  and  held  up  to  the  view  of  mankind,  in 
impressive  and  significant  symbol,  the  shed- 
ding of  that  blood,  without  which  there  is  no 
remission.  In  every  lamb  that  bled  on  Jew- 
ish altars  we  see  a  type  of  the  Lamb  of  God, 
virtually  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the 
world,  whose  blood  cleanseth  from  all  sin: 
and  some  dim  traditional  knowledge  of  this 
divine   appointment  must,  we   think,  have 


LECTURE  III.  89 

given  rise  to  the  use  of  bloody  sacrifices 
among  the  gentile  tribes.  Again,  we  ask, 
how  can  you  account  for  the  hebdomadal  or 
weekly  division  of  time,  so  extensively  ob- 
served by  several  of  the  ancient  nations,  with- 
out supposing  them  to  have  derived  it  from 
the  divine  institution  of  the  weekly  sabbath, 
immediately  on  the  creation  of  the  world? 
What  right  have  we,  then,  to  object  to  divine 
revelation  that  it  has  been  but  very  partially 
bestowed?  The  fact  is,  as  we  verily  believe, 
it  has  been  given,  and  renewedly  given,  with 
increasing  light  and  evidence  to  mankind; 
but  it  never  has  been,  and  never  will  be 
forced  upon  them.  Religion  is  a  voluntary 
thing,  and  man  is  a  moral  being.  If  a  people 
reject  the  Bible,  it  will  leave  them.  There 
were  seven  churches  in  Asia  Minor  of  apos- 
tolic planting;  but  they  degenerated,  and 
heeded  not  the  Lord's  faithful  counsels,  and 
the  gospel  left  them,  and  the  hand  of  desola- 
tion has  been  upon  that  once  beautiful  land 
ever  since.  And,  now,  the  sacred  scripture 
is  read  in  upwards  of  a  hundred  and  seventy 
living  languages;  so  that  it  is  difficult  to  find  a 
country,  or  any  considerably  peopled  isle  of 
the  sea,  where  Christianity  has  not  lighted  up 
9 


90  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

the  lamp  of  hope,  and  shed  forth  her  peaceful, 
holy  influence.  The  partial  and  limited  be- 
stowment  of  the  precious  boon,  ought  not, 
then,  to  be  regarded  as  a  formidable  objection 
to  its  cordial  reception  by  those  to  whom  it 
is  actually  offered.     But 

2.  The  obscurity,  the  mystery,  the  great  dif- 
ficulty of  understanding  it,  is  alleged  as  ano- 
ther objection  to  the  Bible,  and  to  its  accept- 
ance as  a  heaven-inspired  volume.  Now  we 
meet  this  with  considerations  very  much  re- 
sembling those  which  have  just  been  present- 
ed in  reference  to  the  preceding  objection.  It 
lies  against  the  book  of  nature  as  forcibly  as  it 
does  against  the  Bible.  There  are  many  facts 
in  the  former  as  well  as  in  the  latter  which 
we  cannot  comprehend,  although  we  believe 
and  act  upon  them  every  day,  and  without 
scruple.  God  manifests  himself  in  his  works, 
and  in  his  word,  in  such  way  as  is  best 
adapted  to  call  into  exercise  man's  active 
powers,  and  improve  his  moral  character. 
Nothing  is  made  so  plain  as  to  supersede 
thought,  and  some  degree  of  investigation; 
and  we  are  so  constituted,  that  a  large  pro- 
portion of  our  happiness  arises  from  exertion 
and  careful  observation.     The  process  of  ve- 


LECTURE  III.  91 

getation,  the  harmonious  movements  of  the 
planetary  system,  the  ebbing  and  flowing  of 
the  ocean,  and  a  thousand  things  in  nature, 
are  mysteries  to  us.  We  see  and  enjoy  their 
beneficial  effects;  but  the  causes  or  innate  na- 
ture of  these  things  we  cannot  fully  compre- 
hend: we,  therefore,  refer  them  to  the  un- 
searchable wisdom,  power,  and  goodness  of 
the  Creator.  But,  in  regard  to  the  most  im- 
portant matters  in  revelation,  they  are  easily 
understood,  and  may  be  readily  and  reason- 
ably believed  on  testimony.  What  difficulty 
do  you  find,  for  instance,  in  getting  at  the 
meaning  of  the  ten  commandments, — the  ser- 
mon on  the  mount, — the  precept  of  doing  as 
you  would  be  done  by, — of  doing  justly, 
loving  mercy,  and  walking  humbly  before 
God?  Is  there  any  thing  very  mysterious  in 
repentance,  faith,  and  turning  from  our  evil 
ways?  These  are  certainly  practical  duties. 
And  as  to  the  great  fundamental  doctrines  of 
our  religion,  the  incarnation,  the  atonement 
and  intercession  of  Christ,  they  are  matters 
of  belief,  not  of  comprehension.  They  do  not 
contradict  reason,  but  transcend  its  grasp; 
and  their  blissful  effects  are  known  only  by 
experience.     Keep  these  precepts,  and  make 


92  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

yourselves  experimentally  acquainted  with 
these  doctrines,  and  you  can  study  the  dark 
and  deep  things  of  the  Bible  at  your  leisure. 
If  you  should  not  get  to  the  bottom  of  them 
here,  you  will  have  more  light,  and  more 
time,  and  more  mental  vigour  hereafter. 
"What I  do  thou  knowest  not  now;  but  thou 
shalt  know  hereafter." 

But  you  find  some  things  written  and  en- 
joined, of  which  you  can  see  no  use.  Well, 
bear  in  mind  that  the  Bible  is  a  book  for  the 
world,  in  its  successive  ages  and  generations. 
What  you  may  not  find  very  useful  to  you, 
may  have  been,  or  may  be,  in  future  time, 
very  useful  to  others.  Still,  there  are  bad 
things,  and,  often,  a  bad  spirit  manifested,  by 
persons  who  hold  a  conspicuous  place  in  the 
Bible.  Be  it  so.  But  are  these  bad  doings, 
and  this  wrong  spirit  commended  to  you  by 
God  for  imitation?  No,  verily.  They  are 
detailed,  for  truth's  sake,  and  to  show  you 
what  human  nature  is.  You  should  recollect, 
also,  what  was  stated  in  a  preceding  lecture, 
that  the  subjects  of  inspiration  were  not  al- 
ways, or  in  their  private  character,  under  the 
infallible  guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit;  but 
only   when    directly  employed    in   making 


LECTURE  III.  93 

known  the  will  of  God.  If  David,  and  Peter, 
and  others,  were  left  for  a  time  to  commit  of- 
fences, for  which  they  were,  afterwards,  hum- 
bled to  the  dust,  it  is  a  lesson  to  us  and  to 
all  men :  "  Let  him  that  thinketk  he  standeth, 
take  heed  lest  he  fall.'7  But  you  will  remind 
us,  perhaps,  that 

3.  The  Bibles  are  not  all  exactly  alike, — 
there  are  various  readings,  as  they  are  called, 
in  the  old  manuscripts,  from  which  the  nume- 
rous versions  are  made.  It  is  true  there  are 
various  readings;  Mill,  Wetstein,  Griesbach, 
and  others,  have,  by  prodigious  research, 
found  and  collated  some  thousands;  but,  after 
all,  to  what  do  they  amount  ?  They  are  seized 
with  avidity  by  fault-finders;  but  really,  and 
according  to  some  of  the  soundest  critics  and 
best  judges  in  such  matters,  that  ever  lived, 
they  do  not  affect  a  single  doctrine,  or  falsify 
any  material  fact  in  our  sacred  book.  If  they 
were  all  given  up,  you  would  still  have  the 
whole  gospel,  as  well  of  the  Old,  as  of  the 
New  Testament.  They  relate,  chiefly,  to 
grammar,  the  transposition  of  sentences  and 
the  collocation  of  words.  Our  view  of  inspi- 
ration is,  that  God  so  aided  and  guided  the 
writers,  that  we  have  a  volume  under  his  sig- 
9* 


94  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

nature,  and  by  means  of  his  special  providence, 
comprising  the  facts,  and  doctrines,  and  insti- 
tutions, which  are  able,  by  his  blessing,  to  make 
us  wise  unto  salvation,  through  faith  in  Christ 
Jesus,  the  only  Mediator  and  Redeemer. 
You  say  you  reject  modern  pretenders  to  in- 
spiration, and  demand  why  you  should  not  re- 
ject the  ancients  of  the  same  class?  We  an- 
swer in  few  words,  because  our  ancients  came 
with  credentials,  miracles,  and  prophecy, 
which  we  purpose  examining  in  our  next  two 
lectures. 


LECTURE  IV.  95 


LECTURE  IV. 


THE  EVIDENCE  OF  MIRACLES. 


As  we  progress  in  the  general  argument 
for  the  truth  and  divine  origin  of  our  religion, 
it  is  important  to  bear  along  with  us,  and 
hold  in  remembrance  the  steps  taken,  or  the 
points  proved.  If  this  be  neglected,  the  re- 
sult, or  conclusion,  at  which  we  shall  arrive 
in  due  time,  will  be  less  clear  and  convincing 
than  it  would  have  been  by  due  attention  to 
the  progress  of  the  reasoning.  As  in  mathe- 
matical science,  what  has  been  proved  is  not 
expected  to  be  proved  over  again;  so  it  is  in 
regard  to  any  given  point  in  morals  or  reli- 
gion. It  is  true  that  moral  arguments  are 
not  so  closely  connected,  or  so  dependent  on 
one  another,  as  are  the  successive  steps  in 
the  solution  of  a  problem  in  mathematics; 
less  or  more  proofs  may  be  sufficient  and  sa- 
tisfactory in  the  one  case;  whereas  in  the 
other,  if  a  single  link  be  broken  or  lost,  the 
whole  chain  is  sundered,  and  the  demonstra- 


96  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

tion  fails.  But  jet,  in  moral  reasoning,  espe- 
cially when  the  question  to  be  settled  is  com- 
plicated and  attended  with  seeming  difficul- 
ties, the  more  arguments  we  can  adduce  tend- 
ing to  the  same  conclusion,  the  stronger  it 
will  be,  and  the  deeper  will  be  our  conviction 
of  its  truth  and  soundness.  Arguments  may, 
indeed,  be  multiplied  beyond  what  is  neces- 
sary or  useful; — some  may  be  inappropriate 
and  of  doubtful  bearing,  and  therefore  injure 
a  good  cause.  Our  aim  is  to  select  a  few  of 
the  most  obvious  and  indisputable,  arranged, 
according  to  our  best  judgment,  so  that  their 
applicability  may  be  perceived  and  their 
united  impression  be  felt  by  the  candid  and  in- 
quiring mind:  but  the  connection, — the  links 
in  the  chain  of  reasoning,  must  not  be  over- 
looked or  forgotten.  We  have  aright  to  as- 
sume now  and  proceed  upon  what  has  been 
demonstrated;  viz.:  that  the  sacred  Scriptures 
were  penned  by  the  writers  whose  names 
they  bear,  or  to  whom  they  have  long  been 
ascribed;  that  they  narrate  facts  and  events  as 
tney  really  occurred,  and  are  therefore  en- 
titled to  the  credit  due  to  all  authentic  his- 
tory; we  have  seen  that  some  things  in  these 
writings  could  not  have  been  known  to  men, 


LECTURE  IV.  97 

but  by  divine  teaching;  such  as  the  creation 
of  the  world,  when  there  were  no  human  wit- 
nesses, the  radical  doctrines  of  Christianity, 
which  transcend  the  line  of  reason,  and  far  dis- 
tant events,  plainly,  beyond  the  ken  of  mor- 
tals; we  have  seen  reason,  also,  to  conclude 
that,  in  regard  to  matters  that  might  be 
known,  to  some  extent,  without  divine  sug- 
gestion, a  book  such  as  the  Bible  is,— so  far- 
reaching,  so  complex  and  various  in  its  con- 
tents, and  so  stupendous  in  its  design,  could 
not  have  been  composed  by  men  without  the 
special  supervision  and  guidance  of  unerring 
wisdom.  Accordingly,  the  writers  profess  to 
have  been  inspired,— they  come  to  us  as  am- 
bassadors from  the  high  court  of  heaven.— 
they  bring  to  us  messages  as  from  God,  and 
claim  for  them  the  faith  and  obedience  of 
mankind,  as  the  infallible  oracles  of  divine 
truth. 

In  the  preceding  lecture,  we  endeavoured 
to  ascertain  what  they  mean  by  inspiration; 
and  have  found,  that,  from  the  nature  of  the 
thing,  and  according  to  their  own  views  of  the 
matter,  it  consisted  in  two  degrees ;  i.  e.  in 
God's  suggesting  to  them  the  ideas,  and  pro- 
bably the  words,  in  which  to  convey  those 
ideas  to  others,  on  subjects  above  human  cor.- 


98  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

ception;  and  in  his  supervision  and  guidance 
of  them,  in  selecting  and  communicating  to 
the  world  such  matters  of  history  and  expe- 
rience, as  he  deemed  fit  and  proper  to  be  em- 
bodied in  his  book  of  doctrine  and  precept, 
for  the  instruction,  and  government,  and  sal- 
vation of  mankind. — We  ask  for  their  cre- 
dentials, or  the  authenticated  evidences  of 
their  divine  mission ;  which  are  presented  to 
us  in  the  form  of  miracles  and  prophecies. 
These  we  now  proceed  to  examine;  and  if 
they  appear  to  be  fair  and  above  reasonable 
suspicion,  we  hold  ourselves  pledged  and 
bound  to  regard  them  as  the  ministers  of  God, 
and  will  receive  their  communications,  as  of 
the  highest  authority,  and  worthy  of  all  ac- 
ceptation. 

The  miracles  will  be  the  subject  of  our  pre- 
sent lecture,  and  the  prophecies  we  shall  con- 
sider in  our  next. 

Christ  and  his  apostles,  certainly,  accord- 
ing to  all  the  accounts  we  have  of  them,  and 
we  have  accounts,  as  well  from  their  enemies 
as  from  themselves  and  their  friends,  did  very 
wonderful  works.  They  did  those  works,  too, 
in  attestation  of  their  divine  mission;  and  if 
they  were  indeed  miraculous  performances, 


LECTURE  IV.  99 

we  see  not  how  we  can  reasonably  refuse 
to  acknowledge  their  claims,  and  accept  their 
teachings  as  divine  and  authoritative.  But 
what  is  a  miracle  ?  Not  ever)''  extraordinary 
performance  or  phenomenon,  but  something 
out  of  the  usual  course  of  events.  A  danger- 
ous disease  may  be  removed  by  a  surgical 
operation,  or  by  the  use  of  medicine,  and  yet 
have  nothing  miraculous  in  it.  But  if  an  in- 
veterate ailment,  as  the  leprosy,  be  cured  in- 
stantly by  any  one,  just  uttering  the  words, 
u  I  will;  be  thou  cleansed;'7  this  we  would  call 
a  miracle.  It  is  an  effect  for  which  we  can 
assign  no  cause,  other  than  the  power  of  God. 
Mr.  Hume  defines  a  miracle  to  be  "a  vio- 
lation of  the  laws  of  nature."  We  object  to 
the  definition,  for  two  reasons :  first,  because 
it  conveys  the  idea  of  something  wrong  and 
disorderly:  secondly,  because  of  the  inference 
deducible  from  it,  against  all  miracles.  No 
creature,  it  is  manifest,  can  disturb  an  estab- 
lished law  of  nature.  He  may  disregard  it. 
and.  if  he  does  he  will  suffer  the  penalty. 
And  the  presumption  is,  that  God  would  not 
interfere  for  the  violation  of  a  law  which 
he  had  enacted;  for  if  he  did,  it  would  imply 
a  change  in   him,  and   some  defect  in  his 


100  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

enactments;  therefore,  a  miracle  is  not, in  any 
instance,  to  be  expected,  and  cannot  be  ren- 
dered credible  by  any  possible  amount  of  evi- 
dence.    Now  there  is  sophistry  in  this ;  and 
it  has  blinded  and  misled  many  honest  in- 
quirers.    A  better  definition  is,  that  a  mira- 
cle is  a  suspension  of  some  law,  or  ordinary 
operation  of  nature.     But  neither  this,  nor 
any  that  we  have  met  with,  is  entirely  satis- 
factory.    The  expression,  "law  of  nature/7 
as  used  in  this  connection,  is  obscure  and  de- 
ceptive.    What  is  a  law  of  nature  ?     A  law 
binding  rational  and  accountable  creatures, 
we  can  readily  comprehend.     But  insensate 
matter,  cannot,  as  we  conceive,  be  bound  by 
any  law,  either  to  remain  inert,  or  to  operate, 
or  to  move  in  any  given  way,  uniformly  and 
for  ever,  in  the  absence  of  that  intelligent  and 
efficient  agency,  which  first  brought  it  into 
being  and  has  ever  since  used  it,  whether  at 
rest  or  in  action,  for  certain  great  and  bene- 
ficent  purposes,  in  reference  to  his  rational 
and  sensitive  creatures.    It  is  the  providence 
of  the  Creator,  touching,  and  controlling,  and 
directing  all  things  and  all  events,  that  se- 
cures that  uniformity  in  nature's  operations 
or  laws,  as  we  are  accustomed  to  call  them; 


LECTURE  IT.  101 

which  is  so  convenient  and  beneficial  to  the 
world.  The  doctrine  that  the  Creator,  after 
imposing  on  the  material  universe  certain  in- 
describable laws,  retired  behind  the  curtain, 
and  shut  himself  up  in  his  own  uncreated  pa- 
vilion, is  fraught  with  moral  mischief.  Its 
direct  tendency  is  to  give  license  to  vice,  to 
discourage  virtue,  and  cover  affliction  with 
the  mantle  of  despair.  If  God  sustains  and 
controls  at  pleasure,  the  ordinary  operations 
of  secondary  causes,  then  we  have  good  rea- 
son to  rely  upon  him, — to  look  up  to  him  in 
prayer,  and  submit  to  his  providential  deci- 
sions with  filial  confidence;  and  then  may 
a  miracle  occur,  without  the  violation  of  any 
law,  upon  a  suitable  occasion  and  for  a  great 
and  good  purpose.  Such  occasion  there 
was  in  the  days  of  Moses  and  the  prophets; 
and  again,  under  the  ministry  of  Christ  and 
his  apostles.  The  obvious  design  in  both 
cases,  was  to  attest  and  verify  a  revelation 
for  the  temporal  and  eternal  good  of  mankind. 
It  is  as  easy  and  self-consistent  for  God  to 
suspend  as  to  maintain  the  usual  course  of 
events.  But  says  the  philosopher  just  named, 
"no  evidence  can  render  a  miracle  credible." 
Then  God  can  do  what  he  cannot  so  authen- 
10 


102  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

ticate,  that  his  intelligent  creatures  can  rea- 
sonably believe  it.  This  gross  libel  on  God 
and  human  nature,  were  we  to  undertake  its 
refutation,  would  throw  us  back  upon  the 
credibility  of  the  sacred  Scriptures.  But 
we  have  disposed  of  that  branch  of  our  sub- 
ject, and  shall  not  resume  it  now.  The 
skeptic's  notion  would  limit  the  Almighty, 
and  scandalize  the  intellectual  constitution 
which  he  has  given  to  man.  The  fact  is,  we 
are  so  constituted,  and  that,  as  might  easily 
be  shown,  for  wise  purposes,  that  we  almost 
instinctively  rely  on  testimony,  even  before 
we  examine  whether  it  bear  the  marks  of 
truth.  Children  believe  every  thing  that  is 
told  them,  until  they  learn,  by  degrees,  that 
some  things  that  are  said,  are  not  true  and 
not  to  be  credited.  And  we  all  believe  a 
thousand  things  and  some  very  extraordinary 
facts  too,  on  the  testimony  of  others,  as  firmly 
as  we  believe  our  own  existence,  or  the  ex- 
istence of  things  that  come  in  contact  with 
our  senses  every  day.  But  says  our  skeptical 
philosopher,  "testimony  is  so  often  found  by 
experience  to  be  fallacious,  that  we  can  place 
little  reliance  on  it;  and  a  miracle  is  a  thing 
so  utterly  contrary  to  uniform  experience, 


LECTURE  IV.  103 

that  we  cannot  believe  it  on  any  amount  of 
testimony  that  can  possibly  be  adduced  in  its 
support.'7  Indeed!  Let  us  see.  On  this 
principle,  the  people  of  Canton,  or  Ceylon, 
can  never  be  made  to  believe  that  we  have 
in  this  country,  such  a  thing  as  ice  on  our 
lakes  and  rivers,  strong  enough  to  bear  men 
and  horses;  for  it  is  contrary  to  their  uniform 
experience  in  that  warm  climate.  But  the 
forming  of  ice  is  not  a  miracle.  Granted ;  but 
you  see  that  experience  is  not  uniform  and 
invariable  in  all  parts  of  the  world :  it  is  not, 
therefore,  an  infallible  guide  in  reasoning 
about  matters  of  fact.  I  have  never  experi- 
enced an  earthquake; — my  experience  has 
been  all  my  life  uniformly  against  its  occur- 
rence; and  yet  I  believe  that  these  terrific 
convulsions  of  nature  have  taken  place,  as 
much  as  I  believe  any  thing  else,  seen  or  not 
seen  by  me;  and  that,  too,  without  demand- 
ing any  extraordinary  degree  or  kind  of  tes- 
timony in  support  of  the  fact.  This  sophism 
about  the  comparative  value  of  experience 
and  testimony,  in  regard  to  extraordinary  past 
events,  may  be  shown  to  be  self-destructive, 
by  carrying  out  its  principles  and  looking  at 
their  effects.     Suppose,  for  instance,  that  the 


104  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

secret  of  compounding  gunpowder  had  pe- 
rished, by  the  death  of  its  discoverer,  imme- 
diately after  its  extraordinary  effects  had  been 
exhibited  before  a  hundred  competent  wit- 
nesses': the  fact  of  its  amazing  powers  must 
be  rejected  as  a  manifest  falsehood;  for,  that  a 
small,  black  powder  should  possess  such  pow- 
ers, contradicts  the  universal  experience  of 
mankind.  The  depositions  of  the  hundred 
witnesses,  being  in  opposition  to  uniform  ex- 
perience, go  for  nothing.  Is  it  not  more  pro- 
bable that  the  witnesses  should  be  liars,  than 
that  the  experience  of  mankind  should  be 
contravened?  Therefore,  the  said  small, 
black  powder,  possesses  no  such  powers  as 
the  hundred  false  witnesses  ascribed  to  it.1 
This  would  be  a  legitimate  inference  from 
Mr.  Hume's  premises;  but  is  it  just  and  true  f 
But  still,  it  is  alleged,  that  whatever  weight 
the  testimony  of  the  witnesses  of  Bible  mi- 
racles miorht  have  had  with  those  who  lived 
near  the  date  of  their  occurrence,  it  can  be 
no  fit  ground  of  faith  to  us,  who  live  in  the 
nineteenth  century.  But  why  not?  Does 
time  gradually  diminish  and  finally  annilii- 

1  Home's  Introduction,  &c. 


LECTURE  IV.  105 

late  the  value  and  credibility  of  testimony? 
We  have  not  so  learned.  However  it  may 
be  in  regard  to  tradition,  now  that  human 
life  is  so  much  shorter  than  it  was  before 
Noah's  flood,  the  case  is  certainly  different 
with  written  testimony.  We  have  the  same 
documents  that  the  people  of  the  first  two  or 
three  centuries  had,  together  with  the  monu- 
mental institutions  and  usages,  which  took 
their  rise  at  the  time  the  miracles  were 
wrought.  For  the  last  four  centuries  these 
writings  have  been  in  print  and  in  many  lan- 
guages, as  we  had  occasion  to  mention  in  a 
preceding  lecture.  We  have  seen,  more- 
over, the  progress  and  good  effects  of  the  re- 
ligion taught  in  these  documents:  so  that  the 
testimony  would  seem  to  us  to  be  corroborated, 
rather  than  weakened  by  time.  We  hear  no 
complaint  of  the  diminution  of  evidence  in 
support  of  other  ancient  facts  !  W^hy  then 
should  we  distrust  the  declarations  of  those 
who  witnessed  the  gospel  facts? 

But  there  would  be  no  end  to  answering 
objections.  A  miracle  is  possible  with  God. 
It  is  his  act,  either  directly,  or  through  an 
agent  commissioned  by  him;  and  when  he 
thus  suspends  the  ordinary  course  of  his  pro- 
10* 


106  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

vidence,  and  controls  the  operation  of  subor- 
dinate causes,  we  may  rest  assured,  it  is  for 
a  great  and  good  end,  and  that  each  case,  of 
such  unusual  procedure,  will  be  strongly  and 
distinctively  marked.  Let  us  proceed  then  to 
notice  a  few  of  the  distinctive  characteristics 
of  the  miracles  narrated  in  the  Bible,  and 
which  distinguish  them  from  counterfeits ;  for 
miracles,  like  other  good  things,  have  been 
counterfeited:  and, 

1.  The  object  or  design.  This  was  mani- 
festly two-fold :  first,  to  vindicate  the  Creator's 
claim  to  the  exclusive  homage  and  worship 
of  his  intelligent  creatures:  secondly,  to  at- 
test his  special  revelations  to  mankind,  for 
their  instruction  and  salvation.  Such  was 
the  obvious  intention  of  the  miracles  wrought 
by  the  hands  of  Moses  and  the  other  prophets 
of  the  former  dispensation.  They  rebuked 
idolatry,  and  taught  men  to  look  to  Jehovah, 
as  their  only  Lord  and  Saviour.  The  aim  of 
the  magicians  of  Egypt  and  the  prophets  of 
Baal  was  to  flatter  the  king  and  uphold  their 
craft.  When  they  came  in  collision  with  the 
Lord's  ministers,  they  were  foiled  and  con- 
founded,— their  enchantments  were  shown  to 
be  tricks  of  jugglery,  to  wheedle  and  deceive 


LECTURE  IV.  107 

men  :  and  thus  the  precept,  "  Thou  shalt  have 
no  other  gods  before  me,"  and  the  invitation, 
»'  Look  unto  me  and  be  ye  saved,  all  ye  ends  of 
the  earth,"  were  enforced  by  a  display  of  the 
supreme  power  and  authority  of  the  divine 
Lawgiver  and  only  Redeemer. 

So  of  the  miracles  of  Christ  and  his  apostles. 
The  manifest  design  was,  to  maintain  the 
rights  of  the  eternal  God,  in  opposition  to 
the  pretensions  of  false  and  powerless  deities; 
and  proclaim  the  true  and  only  way  of  salva- 
tion, through  a  Mediator  possessing  all  power 
in  heaven  and  earth.  "  Think  not,"  says 
Christ,  "that  I  came  to  destroy  the  law;  I 
came  not  to  destroy,  but  to  fulfil  it."  The 
first  great  commandment  of  the  law  is,  "  Love 
the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart;"  and 
the  second  is  like  unto  it — "Love  thy  neigh- 
bour as  thyself."  "  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God," 
says  the  precursor  of  the  Messiah,  pointing 
to  Jesus,  "which  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the 
world; " — "His  blood  cleanseth  from  all  sin" 
— "Neither  is  there  salvation  in  any  other," 
re-echo  the  apostles.  "  The  works  that  I  do," 
says  the  Redeemer,  "they  bear  witness  of 
me;" — "We  know,"  says  Nicodemus,  "that 
thou  art  a  teacher  come  from  God;  for  no 


108  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

man  can  do  the  miracles  that  thou  doest,  ex- 
cept God  be  with  him."  When  the  Master 
ascended  to  heaven  and  his  servants  went 
forth  preaching  his  gospel,  he  attended  their 
ministry  by  his  Spirit,  confirming  the  word 
by  signs  or  miracles.  Thus  we  see  the  con- 
nection between  the  word  of  Christ  and  his 
miracles.  The  miracles  confirmed  the  doc- 
trine, demonstrating  its  divine  origin.  The 
grand  object  of  all  Bible  miracles  was  to  pro- 
mote the  glory  of  God  and  the  happiness  of 
man;  the  greatest,  the  most  beneficent,  the 
most  God-like  design,  that  can  be  imagined: 
— an  object  worthy  of  infinite  goodness,  and 
in  the  circumstances  of  our  fallen  race,  re- 
quiring and  justifying  an  interruption  of  the 
ordinary  course  of  nature.  How  else  could 
a  revelation  of  truth  and  grace  be  made,  so 
as  to  command  the  faith,  and  rouse  the  at- 
tention of  a  world  slumbering  in  sin? 

Now  if  you  test  the  reported  doings  of  Ap- 
polonius,  Vespasian  and  others,  sometimes 
adduced  to  disparage  the  gospel  miracles,  by 
this  mark  of  a  genuine  miracle,  you  will  find 
they  shrink  from  a  comparison,  and  dwindle 
down  to  utter  contempt.  Their  object  is  par- 
tial, local,  selfish,  and  altogether  unworthy 
of  God,  as  their  author  and  patron. 


LECTURE  IV.  109 

2.  Another  criterion  of  a  genuine  miracle 
is,  that  it  be  instantaneous  in  its  effects  and 
without  the  use  of  means,  i.  e.,  without  the 
use  of  means  having  any  natural  connection 
with  the  effect  produced.  This  character- 
istic marks  the  miracles  of  Moses  and  of  Je- 
sus. The  plagues  of  Egypt  came  upon  the 
oppressors  suddenly.  The  waters  of  the 
Red  Sea  opened  instantly,  before  the  ran- 
somed tribes,  upon  the  waving  of  the  rod  of 
Moses,  which  he  bore  as  the  symbol  of  au- 
thority, but  which,  certainly,  had  no  natural 
tendency  to  produce  the  effect.  Jesus  said, 
"Lazarus,  come  forth;"  and  he  came  forth, 
after  being  in  the  grave  four  days.  To  the 
deceased  son  of  the  widow  of  Nain,  he  said, 
"Young  man,  I  say  unto  thee  arise;  and  he 
that  was  dead  sat  up  and  began  to  speak;  and 
he  delivered  him  to  his  mother."  Here  are 
plain  indications  of  the  divine  presence  and 
power.  Nature,  or  secondary  causes,  operate 
gradually;  but  with  God,  a  volition  is  in- 
stantly obeyed.  "  He  said,  Let  there  be  light ; 
and  light  was."  Bring  fictitious  miracles  to 
this  test,  and  you  will  see  a  wide  difference 
between  them  and  the  miracles  recorded  in 
the  Bible. 


110  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

3.  A  third  mark  of  a  divine  miracle,  is. 
publicity,  and  that  it  be  of  such  a  nature,  that 
a  plain  man  of  common  sense  can  judge  of 
the  fact.  The  degree  of  publicity  may  be 
more  or  less,  according  to  the  circumstances 
of  each  case;  but  a  thing  done  in  a  corner  is 
always  liable  to  suspicion.  But  if  an  oppor- 
tunity be  afforded  for  scrutiny,  and  if  the 
fact  be  palpable  and  obvious  to  men's  senses, 
the  possibility  of  imposition,  by  addressing 
the  imagination,  or  operating  on  the  nerves 
of  witnesses,  seems  to  be  precluded.  Now 
that  the  scripture  miracles  bear  this  mark  of 
genuineness,  is  undeniable.  They  were 
wrought  in  the  face  of  day,  for  the  most  part, 
in  the  presence  of  great  numbers  of  people, 
and  were  open  for  the  inspection  of  all,  both 
friends  and  foes.  Take  the  turning  of  water 
into  wine,  at  the  marriage  in  Cana.  On  that 
occasion  there  was  a  lack  of  the  customary 
beverage ;  which  indicates  that  the  number 
of  guests  was  greater  than  had  been  expected ; 
and  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose'  that  all,  or 
any  considerable  proportion  of  the  persons 
present,  were  disciples  of  Christ,  for  it  was 
one  of  the  first,  if  not  the  very  first  miracle 
that  he  performed.     Well,  the  waiters  were 


LECTURE  IV.  Ill 

directed  to  fill  the  water-pots,  and  they  were 
filled  accordingly  to  the  brim;  the  servants 
were  then  ordered  to  draw  out  of  the  contents, 
and  bear  it  to  the  governor  of  the  feast;  and 
it  proved  to  be  wine,  and  wine  of  an  excel- 
lent quality.  The  unlooked  for  supply  be- 
came a  ^subject  of  remark;  the  change  was 
effected  on  the  spot  and  instantly.  The  ser- 
vants could  testify  that  they  filled  the  stone 
pots  full  of  water,  and  that  when  drawn  out, 
it  was  wine.  The  fact  in  this  case  was  pal- 
pable to  the  senses.  The  servants  witnessed 
all  that  was  done;  the  master  of  ceremonies 
tasted  the  liquor, — pronounced  it  good  wine, 
and  called  upon  the  bridegroom  to  know 
whence  it  had  come.  Here  was  publicity, 
and  the  thing  done  was  of  such  a  nature,  that 
it  could  hardly  be  mistaken  by  the  spectators. 
The  like  observations  are  applicable  to  the 
feeding  of  thousands  by  the  multiplication 
of  a  few  loaves  and  fishes;  the  raising  of  La- 
zarus, and  the  young  man  of  Nain;  and  the 
cure  of  the  man  lame  from  his  birth,  at  Jeru- 
salem, by  the  apostles  Peter  and  John.  In 
all  these  cases,  and  others  that  might  be  named, 
there  was  no  concealment, — no  selecting  of 
ex  parte  witnesses, — every  thing  was  done 


112  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

openly,  in  the  presence  of  skeptics,  as  well  as 
believers,  and  the  facts  were  of  such  a  cha- 
racter, that  plain  people  could  judge  of  them 
as  readily  and  as  correctly  as  the  most 
learned.  In  some  instances,  it  is  true,  that 
Christ  in  the  early  part  of  his  ministry,  to 
avoid  public  disturbance,  by  exciting  the 
jealousy  of  the  authorities,  enjoined  it  upon 
those  whom  he  cured  to  be  quiet, — to  return 
to  their  families,  resuming  their  ordinary 
business,  and  let  the  effects,  which  were  ob- 
vious and  permanent,  proclaim  the  cause.  In 
some  instances,  as  in  the  restoration  to  life 
of  the  daughter  of  Jairus,  and  the  healing  of 
the  mother  of  Peter's  wife,  the  circumstances 
being  cases  of  family  affliction,  were  such  as 
did  not  admit  at  the  time  of  the  presence  of 
many  and  vario.us  spectators;  but  the  cures 
were  lasting,  and  could  be  inquired  into  by 
any  that  chose.  And  inquiry  was  made,  and 
satisfaction  obtained  from  the  subjects  of 
miracles  in  several  instances.  The  scribes 
interrogated  one  of  the  men  that  was  relieved 
from  blindness:  "  What  did  he  unto  thee  that 
thy  sight  is  restored?77  "  Why,77  said  the  man, 
11  he  made  clay  of  spittle  and  anointed  mine 
eyes,  and  told  me  to  go  to  the  pool  of  Siloam 


LECTURE  IV.  113 

and  wash;  and  I  went  and  washed,  and  came 
back,  seeing."  And  certain  Jews  went  to 
Bethany,  we  are  told,  "  not  for  Jesus'  sake 
only,  but  to  see  Lazarus,  who  had  been  raised 
from  the  dead."  Try  the  heathen  prodigies 
and  other  pious  frauds  of  later  times,  by  this 
criterion — the  openness  and  palpable  character 
of  the  gospel  miracles,  and  you  will  see  the 
difference.  We  have  not  time  to  institute  a 
comparison. 

4.  Another  characteristic  of  the  miracles 
of  the  Bible  is,  the  complete  and  instant  suc- 
cess of  every  attempt.  The  miraculous  works 
of  Christ  and  his  apostles,  to  say  nothing  of 
those  of  Moses  and  the  prophets,  were  nume- 
rous and  various  both  in  kind  and  locality,  ex- 
tending through  a  period,  counting  from  the 
beginning  of  Christ's  ministry  to  the  death  of 
the  apostle  John,  of  upwards  of  half  a  cen- 
tury, and  yet  not  a  single  instance  of  failure 
is  noticed  and  recorded  by  friend  or  foe.  The 
inability  of  the  disciples  to  cast  out  a  demon, 
on  a  certain  occasion,  is  no  exception ;  for  the 
Master  did  what  they  could  not  do,  through 
the  weakness  of  their  faith  and  the  want  of 
a  proper  sense  of  dependence  on  God.  Now 
this  is  a  remarkable,  and  a  distinguishing 
11 


114  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

fact.    The  Emperor  Vespasian  is  not  reported 
to  have  attempted  miraculous  cures,  except 
in  Alexandria,  just  after  his  elevation  to  the 
imperial  throne,  and  that,  for  the  obvious 
purpose  of  raising  him,  in  the  estimation  of 
the  people.     He  laughed  at  the  idea,  when 
it  was  suggested  to  him,  and  really  did  not 
believe,  with  all  his  vanity,  that  he  was  en- 
dued with  such  power.    The  courtiers  coaxed 
and  flattered  him  to  make  the  attempt.    And 
after  all,  as  we  learn  from  Tacitus,  only  two 
cures  were  effected,  that  looked  like  mira- 
cles!    Two  men,  the  one  blind  and  the  other 
lame.     The  physicians  on  being  consulted, 
made  report  that,  in  the  case  of  the  blind  man, 
the  organ  of  vision  was  not  destroyed, — and 
the  limb  of  the  other  might  be  restored,  if 
the  proper  remedy  could  be  discovered.    Yet 
these,  Hume  says,  are  as  well  authenticated 
miracles  as  any  on  record.     It  is  humbling 
to  observe  how  sadly  a  strong  and  cultivated 
mind   may  be  warped,  and   subjected,  and 
bigoted  to  a  system  of  error.     The  tricks  of 
a  heathen  prince,  extorted  and  proclaimed  by 
his  flatterers,  for  no  higher  purpose  than  his 
official  glory,  as  well  authenticated,  and  as 
worthy  of  credit,  as  the  miracles  of  the  gos. 


LECTURE  IV.  115 

pel !  Who,  that  can  measure  the  force  of  evi- 
dence and  is  not  given  over  to  utter  infatua- 
tion, can  believe  it? 

Again,  it  is  well  known  and  confessed,  that 
many  of  the  miserable  patients,  that  waited 
at  the  tomb  of  the  Abbe  Paris,  died,  or  went 
awayuncured;  and  those  recoveries  that  were 
said  to  be  effected,  may  be  accounted  for,  on 
other  grounds  than  the  intercession  of  the  ca- 
nonized saint.  But  what  hapless  victim  of 
disease,  or  of  the  devil,  ever  went  away  from 
Christ  complaining  of  disappointment  or  neg- 
lect? No  such  case  is  reported;  whence  we 
may  conclude,  that  none  occurred,  for  there 
were  enemies  and  opposers  always  and  every 
where,  ready  to  seize  upon  and  use  any  thing 
and  every  thing  plausible,  to  the  disparage- 
ment of  the  Redeemer  and  his  cause. 

5.  There  are  monumental  witnesses,  and 
religious  observances  still  in  use,  to  attest 
the  truth  of  some  of  the  principal  miracles 
of  Moses  and  Jesus  Christ.  Look  at  the 
twelve  stones,  set  up  at  Gilgal  by  order  of 
Joshua.  What  mean  they,  if  not  to  perpetuate 
the  remembrance  of  the  miraculous  passage 
of  Jordan,  under  the  auspices  of  Israel's  God? 
What  could  have  been  the  origin  of  the  Jew- 


116  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY". 

ish  Passover,  but  the  miraculous  exodus  of 
the  ransomed  tribes  from  the  bondage  of 
Egypt?  And  the  feast  of  weeks,  called  the 
feast  of  Pentecost — what  does  it  mean,  but 
to  keep  up  the  remembrance  of  the  giving  of 
the  law  at  Mount  Sinai,  being  fifty  days  after 
the  exodus  ?  The  change  of  the  weekly  Sab- 
bath, from  the  seventh  to  the  first  day  of  the 
week — what  does  this  mean,  and  why  was 
the  change  made,  if  not  to  celebrate  the 
greatest  of  all  miracles, — the  resurrection  of 
Christ,  who  is  Lord  of  the  Sabbath?  And  here 
are  our  two  great  and  'peculiarly  Christian 
ordinances, — baptism  and  the  lord's  supper. 
We  mean  baptism,  in  the  name  of  the  Holy 
Trinity ;  and  the  Sacramental  Supper,  pursu- 
ant to  Christ's  appointment,  for  the  purpose 
of  showing  forth  his  death  for  the  redemp- 
tion of  his  people.  These  may  be  regarded 
as  monuments  of  all  the  extraordinary  facts 
connected  with  the  rise  and  progress  of  the 
Christian  religion.  The  existence  and  ob- 
servance of  these  institutions  cannot  be  ac- 
counted for,  but  by  admitting  the  truthful- 
ness of  the  gospel  history,  which  includes  the 
miracles.  The  former,  in  its  present  form, 
undoubtedly,  originated  in  the  commission 


LECTURE  IV.  117 

which  Christ  gave  the  apostles,  after  his  re- 
srrrection: — "Go  teach  all  nations,  baptizing 
them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son, 
and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,"  &c.     We  say,  in  its 
present  and  Christian  form  ;  for  there  were 
various  ceremonial  ablutions  in  use  before 
the  Christian  era;  but  they  were  not  Christian 
baptism.  E  ven  John's  baptism  was  not,  strictly 
speaking,  Christian  ;  as  is  plain  from  the  fact 
that  Christ  himself  received  it,  not  as  a  sign 
of  regeneration  and  the  remission  of  sin,  for 
he  was  not  a  subject  of  either:  but  in  the  ful- 
filment of  all  righteousness,  i.e.  in  compliance 
with  divine  rites,  then  obligatory  and  in  con- 
formity to  ancient  usage,  of  divine  authority, 
in  entering  publicly,  upon  the  office  of  prophet, 
priest  and  king  of  his  church.      Baptism,  as 
now  used,  recognizes  the  supremacy  of  Christ, 
together  and  equally  with  that  of  the  Father 
and  the  Spirit;  and,  as  it  originated  in  his 
command  to  the  apostles,  after  he  rose  from 
the  dead,  according  to  his  prediction,  its  ad- 
ministration indirectly  commemorates  his  re- 
surrection, that  miracle  of  miracles,  if  we 
may  so  speak,  and  complete  demonstration  of 
the  validity  of  his  pretensions,  as  God's  Mes- 
siah and  man's  Redeemer.     The  other  mo- 
ll* 


118  EVIDENCES  OP  CHRISTIANITY. 

numental  institution,  viz.,  the  Eucharist, 
more  properly  styled,  the  Lord's  Supper,  as 
its  object  is  to  honour  him,  and  keep  his  peo- 
ple in  mind  of  his  redeeming  love,  could  not 
have  originated  but  in  the  truth  of  the  mira- 
cles. He  would  not  have  appointed,  and  that 
on  the  eve  of  his  death,  an  ordinance  which,  if 
it  should  be  observed  at  all,  must,  in  the  event 
of  his  not  rising  from  the  dead,  commemorate 
his  shame.  He  must  have  known  with  divine 
certainty,  that  he  would  rise  and  be  held  in 
everlasting  and  most  grateful  remembrance. 
Nor  would  the  disciples,  unless  we  suppose 
them  to  have  been  idiotic  fanatics,  observe 
and  keep  up  an  institution  to  perpetuate  the 
remembrance  of  their  own  disappointment, 
as  it  must  have  done,  if  their  Master  had  not 
risen  as  he  said  he  would.  So  that  the  ordi- 
nance must  have  originated  in  the  truth  of 
the  main  fact  and  chief  miracle  of  the  gospel, 
and  does  commemorate  the  most  precious  doc- 
trine of  Christianity,  viz.,  that  "  we  have  re- 
demption through  the  blood  of  Christ." 

6.  One  more  consideration,  and  we  shall 
sum  up  and  conclude  this  lecture.  Christ 
in  his  incarnation  and  sufferings  was,  him- 
self, a  subject  as  well  as  a  worker  of  miracles. 


LECTURE  IV.  119 

He  was  conceived  in  a  miraculous  way,  that 
his  human  nature  might  be  immaculate;  he 
was  preserved  in  infancy,  miraculously,  by 
the  interference  of  an  angel,  from  the  mur- 
derous designs  of  Herod.  Three  times,  during 
his  ministry,  he  was  proclaimed,  by  a  voice 
from  heaven,  to  be  God's  beloved  Son;  and, 
at  his  death,  nature   departing  for  a  time 
from  her  usual  course,  gave  impressive  signs 
of  homage  for  her  Lord.     The  earthquake, 
the  rending  rocks,  the  supernatural  darkness, 
the  sundered  veil  and  the  opening  graves, 
bore  unequivocal  witness  to  his  infinite  love 
and  matchless  glory.     Observe,   also,  that 
our  blessed  Lord  was  the  subject  of  specific 
prophecy,  which  is  a  species  of  standing  mi- 
racle, and  will  come  more  particularly  under 
consideration  in  the  next  lecture.     But  we 
cannot  forbear  saying  here,  that  Isaiah  has 
pointed  out  the  very  miracles  performed  by 
Christ,  that  were  to  designate  the  Messiah, 
and  commend  him  to  the  faith  of  the  world. 
"Then  the  eyes  of  the  blind  shall  be  opened, 
and  the  ears  of  the  deaf  shall  be  unstopped; 
then  shall  the  lame  man  leap  as  an  hart, 
and  the  tongue  of  the  dumb  sing."     What 
a  cloud  of  witnesses!  what  an  accumulation 


120  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

of  evidence !  what  a  converging  of  the  rajs 
of  light  to  the  central  glory  of  God's  moral 
system !  Who  would  not  join  the  convicted 
Centurion  in  his  honest  confession,  "Truly 
this  is  the  Son  of  God ! "  You  see  the  close 
and  intimate  connection  between  the  reality 
of  the  miracles,  and  the  truth  of  the  Bible. 
Let  us  now  sum  up  the  argument,  on  this 
topic,  and  conclude.  Spinoza,  one  of  the 
shrewdest  of  unbelievers,  is  reported  to  have 
said : — "  If  I  could  believe  one  of  the  mira- 
cles of  Christ,  I  would  abandon  my  theory 
and  become  a  Christian."  And  why  could 
he  not  believe  ?  Was  it  for  the  want  of  evi- 
dence? How  can  it  be?  Miracles  are  acts 
of  the  God  of  nature,  suspending  her  regu- 
lar operations  for  the  best  of  purposes,  the 
glory  of  the  Creator  and  the  good  of  man. 
Our  miracles  were  wrought  expressly  to  at- 
test our  religion;  to  demonstrate  its  divine 
origin  and  just  claim  to  human  credence. 
Their  credibility,  as  matters  of  fact,  rests  on 
the  common  basis  of  all  history,  the  succes- 
sive testimony  of  living  witnesses,  corrobo- 
rated by  monuments  and  observances  coeval 
with  the  facts  which  they  commemorate. 
These  miracles  were  wrought  publicly  in  va- 


LECTUKE  IV.  121 

rious  places,  on  a  variety  of  subjects,  and 
during  a  long  period  of  time,  and  without 
failure  in  a  single  instance ;  the  effects  fol- 
lowed the  acts  instantly,  and  in  the  absence 
of  natural  means ;  they  were  of  a  kind  that 
could  be  easily  judged  of  by  plain  observers, 
and  the  results  were  beneficent  and  enduring; 
they  gave  rise  to  monuments  and  religious 
observances  which  are  still  to  be  seen.  The 
great  efficient  worker  of  these  miracles  was, 
himself,  a  subject  of  miracles  and  prophecy. 
Nature  obeyed  his  word,  and  yielded  homage 
to  her  living  Lord;  and,  when,  as  Mediator, 
he  died,  "the  just  for  the  unjust/'  she  veiled 
her  face,  and  bowed  her  head  at  the  cross 
with  reverential  awe.  What  more  is  want- 
ing? What  more,  from  the  nature  of  the 
case,  could  have  been  given  in  the  way  of 
proof?  Here  are  signs  from  earth,  and  signs 
from  heaven;  and  even  the  spirits  of  dark- 
ness render  their  reluctant  witness,  "crying 
out  and  confessing, '  Thou  art  Christ,  the  Son 
of  God;'  and  he,  rebuking  them,  suffered 
them  not  to  speak;  for  they  knew  that  he 
was  the  Christ."  Miracles,  thus  avouched, 
have  a  strong  claim  to  our  unwavering  faith 
in  Christ  and  his  gospel;  for  they  demon- 


122  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

strate  the  validity  of  his  pretensions.  Why, 
if  we  reject  the  gospel,  we  will  have  to  en- 
counter miracles  of  another  sort,  quite  as 
hard  to  believe,  and  as  contrary  to  our  ex- 
perience as  any  recorded  in  the  sacred  vo- 
lume. "  Seeing,  then,  that  we  are  compassed 
about  with  so  great  a  cloud  of  witnesses,  let 
us  lay  aside  every  weight,  and  the  sin  that 
doth  so  easily  beset  us;  and  let  us  run,  with 
patience,  the  race  that  is  set  before  us,  look- 
ing unto  Jesus,  the  author  and  finisher  of  our 
faith:1 


LECTURE  V.  123 


LECTURE  V. 


EVIDENCE    OF    PROPHECY. 


It  was  said  in  our  last  lecture,  fliat  miracles 
and  prophecy  constitute  the  credentials  of  the 
inspired  penmen,  i.  e.,  the  evidence  of  their 
mission  from  God,  with  his  messages  of  truth 
and  grace  to  mankind.  The  miracles  we 
have  examined,  and  have  found  that  they 
were  deviations  from  the  ordinary  course  of 
events,  or  suspensions  of  the  laws  of  nature, 
by  divine  power,  to  attest  and  authenticate 
the  doctrines  of  the  Bible,  taught,  as  well  by 
Moses  and  the  prophets,  as  by  Christ  and  his 
apostles.  The  other  part  of  these  credentials, 
viz.,  prophecy,  which  is  a  kind  of  standing 
miracle,  we  will  now  proceed  to  consider, 
very  briefly:  for  it  is  far  from  our  purpose  to 
give  a  dissertation  on  prophecy,  or  to  under- 
take the  solution  of  all  the  questions  that 
have  been  raised  on  the  subject.  Our  sole 
object  here,  is  to  bring  out  the  argument  de- 


124  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

ducible  from  this  branch  of  the  evidences, 
for  the  truth  and  authority  of  our  religion, 
and  present  it  in  a  dense,  but  intelligible 
form,  so  that  its  force  may  be  perceived  and 
felt.  Let  us,  then,  endeavour,  first,  to  ascer- 
tain what  genuine  prophecy  is,  and  how  it  is 
distinguished  from  heathen  oracles  and  other 
false  pretensions.  Secondly,  the  scope,  or  ge- 
neral scheme  of  scripture  prophecy.  Thirdly, 
notice  some  specimens  of  its  actual  fulfilment. 
And,  fourthly,  its  bearing  on  the  truth  of 
Christianity.     And, 

I.  The  nature  of  genuine  prophecy:  It  is 
the  predicting  or  foretelling  of  such  future 
events  as  can  be  known  only  to  the  omniscient 
God.  Man's  knowledge  is  limited  to  the  past 
and  the  present.  The  knowledge  of  past 
events  he  derives  from  testimony;  and  that  of 
the  present  he  gathers  from  observation  and 
experience.  Of  the  future,  he  knows  nothing. 
We  know  not  what  a  day  will  bring  forth : 
except  what  we  expect  from  the  regular 
course  of  nature,  or  the  action  of  certain 
physical  or  moral  causes,  of  which  we  have 
had  some  experience  in  time  past.  Thus  we 
count  upon  the  sun's  rising  in  the  morning; 
and  the  return  of  spring  at  the  usual  period 


LECTURE  Y.  125 

of  the  year;  upon  the  ebbing  and  flowing  of 
the  tides;  and  the  matured  fruits  of  the  earth, 
in  due  season.  Thus  the  astronomer  can 
foretell  eclipses  and  other  celestial  phenome- 
na, by  certain  calculations  based  on  the  gene- 
ral uniformity  of  the  rules  by  which  the 
Creator  governs  and  sustains,  in  order,  the 
planetary  system.  But  this  is  not  positive 
knowledge.  It  is  only  rational  expectation, 
which,  possibly,  may  not  be  realized.  Xo  law 
of  nature  has  inherent  power  to  operate  uni- 
formly, independent  of  that  infinite  intelli- 
gence which  gave  it  its  first  impulse,  and 
whose  abiding  influence  sustains  it  in  action. 
So  the  poverty  of  an  idler— the  ruin  of  a 
drunkard— the  ill  effects  of  bad  policy  in 
church  or  state  may  be  foretold,  hypotheti- 
cally,  with  moral  certainty  or  strong  proba- 
bility; but  a  reformation,  or  a  change  of 
measures,  may  prevent  the  predicted  results. 
The  utmost  that  we  can  arrive  at,  in  regard 
to  future  events,  is  moral  probability,  or  rea- 
sonable expectation.  To  know  with  absolute 
and  infallible  certainty,  what  a  day  or  an 
hour  will  bring  forth,  is  one  of  the  preroga- 
tives of  Him,  who  sees  the  end  from  the  be- 
ginning; and  with  whom  a  thousand  years 
12 


126  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

are  as  one  day,  and  one  day  as  a  thousand 
years.  The  prediction  of  future  events, 
therefore,  especially  if  they  be  remote  and 
unlikely,  in  human  view,  to  take  place,  which 
are  subsequently  fulfilled,  is  prophecy;  and  is 
fairly  attributable  to  God,  whether  the  an- 
nouncement be  by  him  immediately  or  indi- 
rectly, through  a  chosen  and  commissioned 
minister.  And  whoever  utters  a  prediction, 
so  fulfilled,  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  and  pro- 
fessedly in  confirmation  of  the  doctrine  which 
he  teaches,  is  entitled  to  be  received  as  a 
teacher  from  God,  and  his  teachings  are  to 
be  regarded  as  divine  and  authoritative.  To 
God  belongs  the  power  of  prophecy ;  and  he 
would  not  delegate  that  power  to  any  one, 
for  the  establishment  and  propagation  of 
falsehood.  The  force  of  the  argument,  it 
should  be  observed,  lies  in  the  fulfilment  of 
the  prediction.  The  mere  utterance  may  be 
nothing  more  than  guessing:  and  the  apparent 
accomplishment,  in  one,  or  a  few  instances, 
out  of  many  predictions,  may  be  accidental ; 
but,  if  the  prophecies  be  numerous,  and  va- 
rious, as  to  the  subjects,  the  time,  and  place, 
and  means  of  fulfilment;  and  particularly  if 
there  be  some  great  object,  or  personage  to- 


LECTURE  Y.  127 

wards  which  they  all  converge,  as  rays  of 
light  to  a  focus;  and  if  the  terms  in  which  the 
predictions  are  conveyed,  be  definite  and  un- 
equivocal, and  yet  the  accomplishment  take 
place,  according  to  the  main  features  of  the 
description,  the  evidence  of  the  inspiration 
of  the  prophet  becomes  strong  and  impressive. 
These  characteristics  are  all  found  in  the 
scripture  prophecies,  and  distinguish  them 
from  the  pagan  oracles  and  all  other  dishonest 
pretensioDS.  The  time  would  fail  us  to  go 
into  the  comparison,  except  to  adduce  one  or 
two  well  known  instances  of  oracular  answers, 
so  artfully  worded,  as  to  maintain  the  honour 
of  the  god,  in  any  event.  Croesus,  meditating 
war  upon  the  Persians,  consulted  the  oracle 
at  Delphi,  the  most  celebrated  in  the  heathen 
world,  and  received  for  answer,  that,  if  he 
engaged  in  the  contemplated  war,  "  he  would 
destroy  a  great  empire."  This  he  inter- 
preted, very  naturally,  in  his  own  favour. 
But  the  response  was  capable  of  another 
meaning.  The  doomed  empire  might  either 
be  his  own  or  that  of  Persia.  He  made  the 
attack,  but  was  defeated,  and  ruined  his  own 
kingdom;  and  yet  the  oracle  continued  in 
credit.    Pyrrhus,  king  of  Epirus,  long  after- 


128  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

wards,  inquired  of  the  same  oracle,  to  know 
the  issue  of  a  war  upon  the  Romans,  and  re- 
ceived an  answer  in  the  Latin  language,  in 
these  words: — 

"Aio  te  JEacida,  Romanos  vincere  posse. 
'Ibis,  redibis,  nunquam  in  bello  peribis.'7; 
Equally  capable,  as  every  Latin  scholar 
knows,  of  two  directly  opposite  meanings. 
It  maybe  translated  into  English, — "I  say 
that  thou,  son  of  iEacus,  canst  conquer  the 
Romans;  thou  shalt  go,  thou  shalt  return, 
never  shalt  thou  perish  in  war ; M  or  thus : — "  I 
say  that  the  Romans  can  conquer  thee,  son  of 
JEacus;  thou  shalt  go,  thou  shalt  never  re- 
turn, thou  shalt  perish  in  war."  Pyrrhus,  on 
the  faith  of  this  equivocal  answer,  interpre- 
ting it,  of  course,  according  to  his  own  wishes, 
rushed  to  the  onset,  and  was  beaten;  and 
yet  the  oracle  saved  its  character  by  the  art- 
ful structure  of  its  response.  Shame  on  the 
skeptic,  who,  for  sake  of  disparagement, 
would  bring  such  juggling  into  competition 
with  the  plain  and  intelligible  announce- 
ments of  the  Lord's  prophets ! 

We  have  said  that  prophecy  is  a  kind  of 
standing  miracle,  and  forms  a  part  of  the 
credentials  of  God's  ambassadors.     Its  de- 


LECTURE  V.  129 

sign  is  the  same  as  that  of  miraculous  works, 
to  attest  the  truth  and  authority  of  divine 
revelation.  It  is  a  miracle  of  knowledge,  as 
supernatural  works  are  miracles  of  power. 
They  both  bespeak  the  respect  and  confi- 
dence of  mankind,  for  the  ministerial  acts, 
and  official  character  of  Christ  and  his  pro- 
phets and  apostles.  Divine  works  make  their 
appeal  directly  to  men's  senses,  and  are 
adapted  to  produce  instant  and  yivid  convic- 
tion of  the  truth  of  the  messages  which  they 
ratify.  Prophecy  is  equally  convincing,  but 
the  conviction  comes  more  slowly,  is  more 
calm,  gentle,  and  permanent.  The  miracu- 
lous act  was  as  satisfactory  as  any  thing  that 
can  be  imagined,  to  those  who  witnessed  it, 
or  who  lived  near  the  date  of  its  perfor- 
mance; but,  to  remote  generations,  it  neces- 
sarily loses  something  of  its  vividness,  though 
its  rational  strength  remains  for  ever.  Pro- 
phecy, on  the  other  hand,  waits  for  the  ful- 
filment, wherein  lies  its  power  of  conviction; 
and,  as  this  (the  fulfilment)  takes  place  be- 
fore the  eyes  of  mankind,  the  evidence  gains 
strength  in  the  lapse  of  ages,  until,  in  its  full 
maturity,  it  must  be  overwhelming.  The 
prediction  is  on  imperishable  record;  and, 
12* 


130  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

when    the    development  of   the   prophetic 
scheme  comes  before  the  world,  a  thousand 
disinterested  pens  register  the  fact,  so  that 
he  who  runs  may  read  God's  testimony  to  his 
own  revelations.     This   peculiarity  in  the 
prophetic  evidence  for  the  truth  of  our  re- 
ligion must  not  be  lightly  passed  over,  by 
those  who  would  know  the  strong  ground  of 
the  Christian's  faith.     It  is  an  argument  of 
amazing,  we   had   almost  said,   irresistible 
force.    It  has  been  gaining  strength  for  ages, 
and  it  will  not  probably  attain  its  full  matu- 
rity till  the  end  of  time.     The  prophecies 
are   numerous;    some   have   been  fulfilled; 
others  are,  now,  in  a  course  of  fulfilment; 
for,  as  Lord  Bacon  remarks,  "  Some  prophe- 
cies are  not  fulfilled  suddenly  and  at  once, 
but  have  a  springing  and  germinant  accom- 
plishment, throughout  many  ages,  though  the 
height  and  fulness  of  them  belong  to  some 
one  age."    Every  step  in  the  process  adds 
fresh  vigour  to  the  argument,  so  that  we  have, 
in  this  respect,  the  advantage  of  the  apostles 
themselves.     We  hear  a  voice,  which  they 
heard  not — a  voice  from  the  desolations  of 
Babylon,  Nineveh   and  Tyre — from   Egypt 
and  the  Holy  Land — from  the  ruins  of  Jeru- 


LECTURE  V.  131 

salem  and  its  once  glorious  temple — from 
the  mournful  relics  of  the  seven  churches, — 
from  the  sad  story  of  Israel's  dispersion,  and 
the  broken  fragments  of  the  enormous  em- 
pire of  Rome,  proclaiming,  in  thrilling  tones: 
— It  is  done ;  the  Lord's  word,  by  the  mouth 
of  his  servants,  is  fulfilled;  we  are  monu- 
ments of  the  truth  of  prophecy;  let  all  the 
earth  look  upon  us  and  fear  God:  oh,  had 
we  known,  in  the  day  of  our  visitation,  the 
things  that  belonged  to  our  peace !  but  now 
they  are  hidden  from  our  eyes!  Many  pro- 
phets and  wise  men,  of  ancient  days,  desired 
to  see  the  things  which  we  see,  but  saw  them 
not.  Their  light  was  as  that  of  the  early 
dawn;  ours,  that  of  the  risen  sun,  advancing 
to  his  meridian.  We  have  marked  the  pro- 
gress of  the  Apocalyptic  angel,  with  the  ever- 
lasting gospel  to  preach  to  them  that  dwell 
on  the  earth.  He  has  been  round  the  globe, 
and  has  lit  up  the  lamp  of  hope  in  India  and 
China,  in  Africa  and  the  Pacific  isles.  Who 
can  resist  such  a  flood  of  light  as  holy  Pro- 
vidence is  pouring  down  upon  the  prophetic 
page  ?     But, 

2.  We   pass  on,  to  consider  the   general 
scope  and  scheme  of  prophecy.    This  is  most 


132  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

comprehensive,  including  the  strongest  fea- 
tures and  most  interesting  events  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  world,  and  the  magnificent  scheme 
contemplates  the  ultimate  subserviency  of  all 
the  prominent  occurrences,  the  rise  and  fall 
of  empires,  the  revolutions  of  states,  and  the 
progress  of  art,  science  and  literature,  to  the 
glory  of  God  and  the  redemption  of  man- 
kind by  Jesus  Christ.  How  wide  the  range, 
— how  stupendous  the  plan!  Where  shall 
we  begin,  and  where  end,  in  attempting  to 
sketch  its  outline?  No  sooner  had  man 
sinned,  and  incurred  the  penalty  of  a  broken 
covenant,  than  the  Spirit  of  prophecy  let 
down  upon  his  dark  path  a  ray  of  hope,  in 
the  first  prophetic  promise  respecting  "the 
seed  of  the  woman."  This  cheering  an- 
nouncement illustrated  and  enforced,  as  it 
was,  by  various  typical  rites  and  offerings, 
sustained  the  faith  of  the  antediluvian  church. 
And,  when  the  enormity  of  men's  wicked- 
ness made  it  necessary,  in  the  judgment  of 
the  only  wise  God,  to  arrest  rebellion  against 
his  rightful  authority,  and  cleanse  his  foot- 
stool by  the  waters  of  a  deluge,  his  fearful 
purpose  was  announced,  and  the  wicked 
were  warned  of  coming  retribution,  a  hun- 


LECTURE  Y.  133 

dred  and  twenty  years  before  the  dread  ca- 
tastrophe came  upon  them,  so  that  truth  and 
justice,  forbearance  and  mercy  might  be  seen 
together,  in  the  completion  of  the  awful  pre- 
diction, that  it  might  be  known  and  remem- 
bered, in  all  future  time,  that  God  will  keep 
his  word,  whether  it  be  a  word  of  threaten- 
ing or  of  promise.  When  the  deluge  had 
subsided,  and  the  bow  in  the  cloud  guarantied 
security  from  a  similar  calamity,  Noah,  the 
father  of  the  new  world,  predicted  the  for- 
tunes of  his  three  sons  and  their  descendants, 
with  a  precision  which  nothing  short  of  di- 
vine omniscience  could  have  dictated,  as  is 
clearly  demonstrated  in  the  subsequent  his- 
tory of  the  three  families  that  repeopled 
the  world.  Shem  is  blessed  and  honoured, 
as  the  progenitor  of  Christ,  according  to  the 
flesh;  Japhet  is  enlarged,  and  dwells  in  the 
tents  ofShem,  by  the  admission  of  the  Gentiles 
into  the  visible  church;  and  Ham  has  been, 
for  ages,  the  servant  of  both,  in  the  subjuga- 
tion and  expulsion  of  the  Canaanites,  and  the 
bondage  of  the  Africans.  Abraham,  in  due 
time,  was  called,  not  as  a  favourite,  but  as  a 
depositary  of  truth,  for  the  benefit  of  the 
world;  and  to  him  was  made  the  prophetic 


134  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

promise  of  Canaan,  as  the  earthly  inheri- 
tance of  his  natural  posterity,  and  the  type 
of  a  better  home;  and  the  seed,  the  peculiar 
seed  was  announced,  in  whom  all  the  families 
of  the  earth  should  be  blessed.  Then,  Jacob, 
the  father  of  the  twelve  tribes,  on  his  death- 
bed, described  their  characters  and  desti- 
nies, and  the  continuance  of  a  lawgiver  in 
Judah,  till  the  coming  of  Shiloh,  with  a  pro- 
phetic clearness,  that  indicated  the  presence 
and  prescience  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  After  a 
lapse  of  years,  to  use  the  language  of  Bishop 
Wilson  of  Calcutta,  "Prophecy  rekindled 
her  torch,  and  pointed  to  the  prophet  'like 
unto  Moses/  while  Job  and  Balaam,  about 
the  same  time,  came  forward  to  testify  of  the 
future  Redeemer,  and  'the  star  that  should 
arise  out  of  Jacob.7  After  Moses,  some  four 
hundred  years,  Samuel  arose  amidst  the  de- 
cay of  religion  and  the  extreme  corruption 
of  the  priesthood,  the  first  of  a  new  series  of 
divine  messengers.  The  age  of  prophecy, 
emphatically  so  termed,  now  began.  David 
came  first,  and  tuned  his  harp.  Jonah  fol- 
lowed, then  Hosea,  Amos,  and  Micah,  who 
led  on  the  choir  of  the  greater  prophets, 
Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  and   Ezekiel.     The  last 


LECTURE  V.  135 

named  of  these  accompanied  the  Jewish  peo- 
ple to  Babylon,  where  Daniel  arose  and 
spake  of  the  seventy  weeks,  reaching  unto 
Messiah  the  Prince.  Haggai  and  Zechariah 
roused  the  languid  nation,  on  their  return, 
and  Malachi  announced  the  herald  of  the 
Saviour." 

About  four  hundred  years  after  Malachi, 
appeared  Christ,  the  Lord,  the  desire  of  na- 
tions, and  the  grand  object  of  the  sublimest 
prophetic  visions,  and  most  significant  types 
of  the  patriarchal  and  Mosaic  dispensations. 
And  he,  to  whom  all  the  preceding  prophets 
had  borne  witness,  announced  the  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem  and  its  temple,  the  disso- 
lution of  the  Jewish  polity,  and  the  intro- 
duction of  that  consummate  economy  of  light 
and  love,  which  bears  his  honoured  name, 
and  is  adapted  to  all  climes  and  countries. 
And,  finally,  to  close  the  long  succession  of 
inspired  seers,  and  complete  the  sacred 
canon,  he  commissioned  his  beloved  disciple 
and  apostle,  John,  when  exiled  in  Patmos,  to 
receive  and  record  the  last  of  the  prophetic 
visions  of  the  Almighty,  bearing  on  the  pro- 
gress and  conflicts,  and  ultimate  triumph  of 
the  kingdom  of  grace,  in  all  future  time. 


136  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

What  a  stupendous  scheme!  How  holy,  how 
wise,  how  beneficent!  Could  it  have  origi- 
nated in  the  mind  of  man?  Such  grandeur 
of  purpose,  such  union  and  harmony,  with 
such  various  instrumentalities,  continued  in 
action  through  so  long  a  period,  is  surely 
above  and  beyond  the  range  of  mortal  con- 
ception. "  It  is  the  Lord's  doing,  and  it  is 
marvellous."  "Let  all  the  earth  fear  before 
him!" 

3.  We  proceed,  thirdly,  to  notice  some 
specimens  of  the  fulfilment  of  prophecy. 
The  scripture  prophecies  may  be  arranged  in 
four  classes,  viz. : — Those  that  relate  particu- 
larly to  the  Jewish  nation ; — those  that  relate 
to  the  surrounding  kingdoms; — those  that 
directly  announce  the  Messiah  and  portray 
his  character  and  work ; — and  those  that  were 
uttered  by  Christ  and  his  apostles.  We  can- 
not, for  want  of  time,  do  more  than  offer  a 
single  specimen  from  each  class.  First,  of 
the  Jewish  nation,  it  was  foretold  by  Moses, 
their  own  lawgiver,  Deut.  xxviii. — That  they 
should,  for  their  sins,  be  removed  into  other 
nations, "  that  they  should  be  scattered  among 
all  people,  from  one  end  of  the  earth  even 
unto  the  other — find  no  ease  or  rest — be  op- 


LECTURE  V.  137 

pressed  and  crushed  always — be  left  few  in 
number  among  the  heathen — pine  away  in 
their  iniquity,  in  their  enemies'  land,  and  be- 
come an  astonishment,  a  proverb  and  a  by- 
word, unto  all  nations."  These  predictions 
were  exactly  fulfilled  in  their  subjugation, 
first,  to  the  Chaldeans,  and  then  to  the  Ro- 
mans; and,  in  later  times,  wherever  they  so- 
journ among  the  nations;  for  they  have  no 
settled  home.  No  man,  who  reads  at  all, 
doubts,  or  can  doubt,  the  literal  accomplish- 
ment of  this  terrible  threatening.  The  peo- 
ple themselves  acknowledge  it;  the  present 
generation  feel  it,  and  have  not  yet  reached 
the  "height  and  fulness  of  it."  They  are 
living  and  mournful  witnesses  of  its  fearful 
truth.  And  that  it  was  pronounced  some 
three  thousand  years  ago,  is  just  as  certain 
as  any  other  past  event  can  be  made  to  us, 
by  testimony  human  or  divine. 

2.  As  a  sample  of  the  prophecies  of  the 
second  class,  take  what  is  foretold  of  Baby- 
lon, so  well  known  in  ancient  history,  and  so 
often  visited  and  described  as  it,  or  rather 
its  site  now  is,  for,  as  it  once  was,  it  is  now 
no  more.  It  was,  in  early  times,  an  exceed- 
ingly great  city,  with  walls  and  gates,  and 
13 


138  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

towers,  and  hanging  gardens,  and  other 
works  of  art,  and  proofs  of  wealth  almost 
incredible.  But  its  inhabitants  were  idola- 
trous and  incorrigible  in  their  evil  ways,  and 
a  holy  God  doomed  it  to  desolation.  For  the 
burden  of  Heaven's  decision  concerning  it, 
see  Isaiah  xiii.,  xiv.  and  xliv.,  and  Jeremiah  1. 
and  li.,  and  several  places  of  other  prophets. 
It  was  to  be  attacked  by  the  Medes  and  Per- 
sians; the  river  Euphrates,  which  passed 
through  it,  and  was  one  of  its  chief  luxuries, 
was  to  be  dried  up;  the  city  was  to  be  taken 
by  surprise,  and  during  a  feast,  when  her 
guardians  were  indulging  in  their  revels.  All 
this  was  exactly  accomplished  under  Cyrus, 
who,  as  Herodotus  and  others  inform  us, 
changed  the  course  of  the  river,  by  digging 
a  new  channel  for  it,  and  introducing  his 
army  by  the  old  one.  In  consequence  of  this 
diversion  of  the  stream  from  its  natural  course, 
pools  of  water  were  to  be  seen  amidst  the 
magnificent  ruins  of  the  city,  and  the  sur- 
rounding country  became  marshy  and  unfit 
for  human  habitation.  Now  the  correspon- 
dence of  the  event  with  the  prediction,  in  so 
many  particulars,  could  not  have  happened 
by  chance;  and  should  any  one  suggest  that 


LECTURE  V.  139 

the  prediction  might  have  been  written  after 
the  event,  and  artfully  fitted  to  it,  we  would 
ask  him,  what  impostor  would  have  ventured 
upon  the  following  description  of  perpetual 
desolation,  verified  by  credible  modern  tra- 
vellers? "  Babylon,  the  glory  of  kingdoms, 
shall  be  as  Sodom  and  Gomorrah;  it  shall 
never  be  inhabited  from  generation  to  gene- 
ration; but  wild  beasts  of  the  forest  shall  lie 
there,  and  their  houses  shall  be  full  of  dole- 
ful creatures:  the  owls  shall  dwell  there,  and 
dragons  in  their  pleasant  places."  This  is  by 
far,  too  minute  and  unlikely,  in  human  view, 
to  be  realized,  for  the  conception  of  a  fraudu- 
lent adventurer.  But  it  was  all  foreseen  by 
divine  omniscience,  announced  by  inspira- 
tion, and  is  attested  by  many  witnesses,  to  be 
the  literal  truth  at  the  present  day. 

3.  Of  the  prophecies  that  announce  the 
Messiah,  and  describe  his  character  and  of- 
fice, we  may  remark,  in  passing,  that  they 
are  numerous,  and,  some  of  them,  very  mi- 
nute and  peculiar;  so  that  they  cannot  be  ap- 
plied, without  violence,  to  any  personage 
known  in  the  history  of  the  world,  except 
Jesus  of  Nazareth.  All  the  prophets  refer 
to  him,  directly  or  indirectly:  "To  him,"  it 


140  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

is  expressly  declared,  "they  all  give  witness." 
"Beginning  at  Moses  and  all  the  prophets/' 
we  are  told  by  an  evangelist,  "  he  expounded 
to  his"  disciples  the  things  concerning  him- 
self." Indeed,  the  Messiah  was  the  great  ob- 
ject of  interest  and  expectation  through  the 
whole  of  the  Old  Testament.  We  find  his 
miraculous  conception,  the  place  and  time  of 
his  birth,  the  tribe  and  family  from  which  he 
was  to  descend,  his  meekness  and  patience, 
his  manner  of  teaching,  his  acts  of  benefi- 
cence, his  death  and  burial,  his  resurrection, 
and  the  progress  of  his  kingdom,  delineated, 
with  a  graphic  exactness,  which  makes  it 
easy  to  identify  him  in  the  person  of  our  Sa- 
viour, and  impossible,  as  we  honestly  believe, 
to  find  the  original  in  any  other. 

But,  as  a  specimen  for  more  particular  re- 
mark, take  the  fifty-third  chapter  of  Isaiah. 
We  prefer  this,  because  it  is  more  compre- 
hensive and  obvious  in  its  application  than 
most  others.  It  is  so  appropriate  and  pecu- 
liar, that  it  looks  like  history.  Indeed,  it  is 
given,  partly,  in  the  past  tense!  "He  hath 
•borne  our  griefs,"  &c. :  of  which  circumstance, 
the  skeptic  has  availed  himself,  to  sustain 
the  bold  allegation,  that  it  was  written  after 


LECTURE  Y.  141 

the  death  of  Christ,  and  applied  to  him,  as 
prophecy,  by  way  of  pious,  well-meant  fraud. 
Surely,  the  man  must  feel  himself  in  pressing 
want  of  arguments,  who  would  seize  upon 
such  a  flimsy  fetch  as  this.  The  fact  is,  that 
the  prophecy  was  penned  seven  hundred 
years  before  Christ  was  born,  and,  with  the 
other  prophecies,  was,  from  that  time  forth, 
in  the  keeping  of  the  Jews;  and  is  to  be 
found  in  the  Greek  translation  of  the  Bible, 
called  the  Septuagint,  made  some  three  hun- 
dred years  before  the  birth  of  Christ.  We 
account  for  the  use  of  the  present  and  past 
tenses  here,  and  in  some  other  instances,  on 
the  ground  of  the  vividness  and  distinctness 
of  the  prophet's  views.  So  intimate  was  his 
communion  with  the  God  of  prophecy,  and 
so  clear  was  his  vision  of  the  coming  Saviour, 
that  that  which  was  to  be  seemed  to  have  al- 
ready taken  place.  And  so  it  had,  virtually, 
and  in  the  divine  purpose.  The  Lamb  of 
God  is  said  to  have  been  slain  from  the  foun- 
dation of  the  world.  The  efficacy  of  his  sac- 
rifice looks  backward  as  well  as  forward,  from 
eternity  to  eternity,  and  round  the  entire 
globe;  for  "he  is  the  propitiation  for  our 
sins,  and,  not  for  ours  only,  but  for  the  sins 
13* 


142  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

of  the  whole  world."  Bat  let  us  look  at  this 
remarkable  prophecy  for  a  few  moments.  It 
depicts  a  personage,  at  first,  of  humble  as- 
pect, without  comeliness,  or  any  thing  to  at- 
tract respectful  regard, — despised  and  re- 
jected of  men, — all  faces  were  averted  from 
him, — a  man  of  sorrows,  and  familiar  with 
grief.  Yet  he  surely  bore  our  griefs  and 
carried  our  sorrows, — was  wounded  for  our 
transgressions,  and  bruised  for  our  iniquities, 
— the  chastisement  of  our  peace  was  upon 
him,  and  by  his  stripes  we  are  healed.  We 
all,  like  sheep,  have  gone  astray,  and  the 
Lord  hath  laid  on  him  the  iniquity  of  us  all. 
Yet,  under  this  fearful  load  of  imputed  guilt, 
he  is  meek  and  uncomplaining;  is  brought  as 
a  lamb  to  the  slaughter,  and,  as  a  sheep  be- 
fore her  shearers  is  dumb,  so  he  opened  not 
his  mouth.  He  was  taken  from  prison  and 
from  judgment;  and  who  shall  declare  his 
generation?  that  is,  as  we  understand  the 
passage,  He  was  taken  into  custody,  and 
hurried  to  execution  unjustly,  and  without 
process  of  law;  and,  although  his  generation, 
that  is,  the  beginning  of  his  days,  and  the 
end  of  his  life  and  reign,  cannot  be  declared, 
being  from  everlasting  to  everlasting,  yet 


LECTURE  V.  143 

was  he  cut  off  out  of  the  land  of  the  living, 
for  the  transgression  of  the  people  for  whom 
he  was  stricken.  He  made  his  grave  with 
the  wicked,  and  was  with  the  rich  in  his 
death;  because  he  had  done  no  violence, 
neither  was  any  deceit  in  his  mouth;  and, 
after  his  life  shall  have  been  made  an  offer- 
ing for  sin,  he  shall  see  his  seed,  shall  pro- 
long his  days,  and  the  pleasure  of  the  Lord 
shall  prosper  in  his  hand.  He  shall  see  of 
the  travail,  or  agony  of  his  soul,  and  shall 
be  satisfied.  By  the  knowledge  of  himself, 
as  God's  righteous  mediatorial  servant,  he 
shall  justify  many,  because  he  shall  bear  their 
iniquities;  therefore,  will  I  (Jehovah)  divide 
him  a  portion  with  the  great,  and  he  shall 
divide  the  spoil  with  the  strong,  because  he 
hath  poured  out  his  soul  unto  death,  and  was 
numbered  with  the  transgressors,  and  bare 
the  sin  of  many,  and  made  intercession  for 
the  transgressors."  What  a  picture!  What 
conceptions  of  lowliness  and  moral  grandeur 
are  here  combined!  What  created,  unin- 
spired mind  could  have  originated,  and  given 
utterance  to  such  thoughts?  Where,  on 
earth  or  in  heaven,  shall  we  find  the  person- 
age that  sat  for  the  picture  f     In  Jesus  of 


144  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

Nazareth,  the  son  of  man  and  the  Son  of 
God,  we  recognize  the  original;  and  we  might 
challenge  men  and  angels  to  show  us  a  plau- 
sible competitor  in  the  wide  universe.  In 
him  these  extremes  of  meekness  and  majesty 
meet  and  harmonize.  Yes,  and,  if  every 
lineament  in  the  likeness  does  not  meet  a  cor- 
respondent trait  in  his  singular  character  and 
history,  as  drawn  by  the  evangelists  in  their 
simple,  unvarnished  narratives,  we  have  erred 
exceedingly  in  our  honest,  and  laborious 
efforts  to  ascertain  the  truth,  and  should  be 
very  thankful  to  be  set  right.  But,  if  the 
foregoing  description  was  sketched,  by  inspi- 
ration of  God,  and,  if  Jesus  Christ  alone  an- 
swers to  it,  and  that  completely  and  minutely, 
how  can  we  escape  from  the  conclusion  that 
his  pretensions  to  the  Messiahship  are  valid, 
and  that  his  religion  is  divine? 

4.  But  his  own  and  his  apostles'  predic- 
tions form  a  fourth  class  of  the  prophecies, 
to  which  we  will  now  direct  attention  for  a 
few  moments.  These  are  also  numerous,  re- 
lating to  various  matters,  and  delivered  on 
sundry  occasions.  We  must  content  our- 
selves, at  present,  with  a  brief  notice  of  one 
or  two  of  his  own,  omitting  entirely  those  of 
the  apostles,  for  want  of  time. 


LECTURE  V.  145 

1.  He  predicted  his  resurrection  from  the 
dead,  specifying  the  very  day  on  which  it 
should  take  place.  See,  at  your  leisure,  Matt, 
xvi.  21;  Mark  viii.  31,  and  other  parallel  pas- 
sages. "  Destroy  this  temple,"  said  he,  mean- 
ing his  body,  "  and,  in  three  days,  I  will  raise 
it  up."  He  is  to  rise  then  by  his  own  unde- 
rived  power.  "  I  will  raise  it  up."  Here  he 
stakes  all  his  claims,  not  only  to  divine  ho- 
nours, but  to  common  truth  and  honesty,  upon 
the  fulfilment  of  the  prediction  or  engage- 
ment, "  I  will  raise  it  up."  Here  is  a  pledge 
given,  and  given  publicly  in  the  hearing  of 
enemies  as  well  as  friends.  And  the  time 
is  so  near  at  hand  that  it  will  not,  it  cannot 
be  forgotten.  Well,  the  temple  was  destroyed 
— he  was  crucified — always  a  certain,  though 
a  lingering  death:  he  was  on  the  cross  at 
least  three  hours ;  but  to  make  certainty  more 
sure,  if  possible,  a  soldier  pierced  him  to  the 
heart,  and  there  flowed  forth  blood  and  wa- 
ter, the  latter  being  an  acknowledged  indica- 
tion of  the  extinction  of  animal  life.  We 
have,  moreover,  the  testimony  of  the  execu- 
tioners, who,  according  to  a  barbarous  usage, 
proceeded  to  break  the  legs  of  the  victims; 
but,  after  performing  this  function  on  the 


146  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

two  thieves  that  were  crucified  with  him,  they 
state  that  they  brake  not  his  legs,  because 
thej  found  "  that  he  was  already  dead"  The 
death,  then,  was  real;  and  he  who  was  thus, 
indubitably,  put  to  death,  must  have  been  a 
living  person,  not  a  personation,  or  figure  of 
speech,  as  some  affect  to  think  Jesus  Christ 
must  have  been, — his  character  is  so  amiable. 
and  so  much  out  of  the  common  way.  Who- 
ever can  believe  such  a  romantic  dream,  might, 
if  he  would,  believe  any  mystery  revealed  in 
the  Bible.  But  to  return  to  our  train  of  re- 
mark about  the  redemption  of  the  pledge 
given,  "I  will  raise  it  up."  The  men  of  power 
took  good  care  that  no  door  should  be  left 
open  for  fraud,  on  the  part  of  his  disciples. 
These  deluded  creatures  might  come  by  night 
and  steal  away  the  body,  and  report  a  ficti- 
tious resurrection.  Poor  souls !  what  could 
they  expect  from  a  dead  body,  if  they  should 
steal  it?  They  must  have  known  that  mea- 
sures would  be  taken  to  oblige  them  to  pro- 
duce it.  But  they  had  no  opportunity  to  at- 
tempt such  a  foolish  thing.  The  body  was 
laid  in  a  tomb  hewn  out  of  a  rock,  the  en- 
trance to  which  was  covered  with  a  massy  stone 
and  sealed;  nor  was  this  all;  a  band  of  armed 


LECTURE  V.  147 

soldiers  was  stationed  around  it.     Yet,  when 
the  set  time  arrived,  early  in  the  morning  of 
the  third  day,  the  body  was  missing:  diligent 
search  was  made  for  it; — what  had  become 
of  it?    The  soldiers  were  inquired  of.     They 
said  the  disciples  took  it  away  while  they  were 
asleep ;  thus  exposing  themselves  to  the  penalty 
of  death,  by  their  own  confession,  for  sleep- 
ing on  guard,  and  testifying  to  what  took  place, 
while,  by  their  own  showing,  they  were  asleep. 
The  story  is  clumsy  enough — believe  it,  who 
can.     It  would  never  have  been  reported, 
but  for  money,  and  a  promise  of  security  from 
the  penalty  of  the  law;  for  what  could  the 
testimony  of  sleeping  witnesses  be  worth?  "We 
shall  be  told,  perhaps,  that  this  whole  state- 
ment is  ex-parte,  that  it  was  got  up  and  propa- 
gated by  the  friends  of  Christ.    Granted ;  but 
is  there  any  counter  statement?     There  were 
enemies,  shrewd  and  powerful,  that  knew  all 
that  took  place.     Why  did  they  not  contra- 
dict the  supposed  false  account?    Is  there 
any  thing,  now  known  to  be  on  record,  to 
contravene  this  account?     If  so,  let  it  be 
produced.     We  should  like  to  see  it.    We 
know  of  none ;  and  the  strong  and  fair  pre- 
sumption is,  that  there  never  was  any.    We 


148  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

believe  the  fact  of  Christ's  resurrection,  upon 
a  mass  of  evidence  which  we  really  cannot, 
consistently,  resist.  If  we  did,  we  should, 
to  be  consistent,  give  up  the  truth  of  all  his- 
tory. He  escaped  from  the  tomb  of  Joseph, 
notwithstanding  all  the  precautions  referred 
to,  in  order  to  prevent  imposition.  He  was 
seen,  after  his  resurrection,  not  once  or  twice 
merely,  but  many  times,  in  various  places, 
and  by  numerous  witnesses,  for  the  space  of 
forty  days;  satisfying  the  doubts  of  the  in- 
credulous, and  giving  full  proof  to  friends 
and  foes,  that  he  had  redeemed  his  pledge. 
And  we  find  that  many  of  his  warmest  friends 
were  slow  to  believe.  Thomas,  one  of  the 
twelve,  would  not  be  satisfied  with  the  evi- 
dence of  one  sense  only,  that  of  seeing,  but 
must  feel  the  print  of  the  nails  in  his  hands, 
and  the  opening  of  the  spear  in  his  side. 
Thus  convinced  by  the  testimony  of  two  of 
his  senses,  in  connection  with  other  proofs  of 
the  fact,  no  marvel  that  he  exclaimed  with 
adoring  admiration, "  My  Lord  and  my  God ! " 
But  surely  there  are  other  grounds  of  a  ra- 
tional faith,  besides  the  evidence  of  a  sense. 
t:  Blessed  are  they  that  have  not  seen,  and 
yet  have  believed ! 7;   As  it  stands  in  the  gos- 


LECTURE  V.  149 

pel  narrative,  we  hold  it  to  be  one  of  the 
clearest  moral  demonstrations  on  record. 
Here  is  a  prophecy  of  what  was  very  un- 
likely, in  human  view,  to  take  place,  uttered 
by  the  founder  of  our  religion  in  proof  of  his 
divine  mission,  literally  fulfilled,  in  despite 
of  the  efforts  of  his  enemies  to  prevent  its 
fulfilment.  Had  it  failed,— had  the  pledge 
not  been  redeemed,  all  would  have  agreed 
that  his  pretensions  were  unfounded;  then, 
as  the  event  turned  out  in  exact  correspon- 
dence to  the  prediction — as  the  pledge  was 
actually  redeemed,  according  to  the  showing 
of  many  witnesses,  why,  in  the  name  of  sense 
and  reason,  should  we  not  concede  his  claims, 
and  hail  him  as  the  long  expected  Messiah, 
the  great  teacher  from  heaven,  whose  doc- 
trine is  divine,  and  whose  right  and  power 
to  save  is  no  longer  questionable? 

We  intended  to  have  brought  to  your  no- 
tice, his  prediction  of  the  destruction  of  Je- 
rusalem and  the  temple,  but  our  time  is 
gone;  aod,  indeed,  if  we  had  time,  it  seems 
needless  to  urge  further  considerations.  The 
argument  from  prophecy  is  strong  enough, 
in  all  reason,  as  it  now  stands.  The  mind 
may  be  saturated  and  oppressed  with  evi- 
14 


150  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

dence.  The  case  just  named,  however,  we 
counsel  you,  respectfully,  to  re-examine  at 
your  convenience.  It  is  another  demonstra- 
tion of  the  truth  and  divine  origin  of  your 
religion.  The  prophecy  is  minutely  recorded 
by  three  of  the  evangelists,  and  the  fulfil- 
ment is  narrated  by  Josephus  and  other 
foreign  writers,  no  way  concerned  to  sustain 
the  Christian  cause..  As  full  justice  cannot 
be  done  to  this  subject,  in  a  single  lecture,  we 
take  the  liberty,  without  intending  disparage- 
ment to  other  valuable  works,  with  which 
you  are,  probably,  more  familiar,  to  recom- 
mend to  your  attentive  and  candid  perusal, 
a  sterling  little  work,  by  Keith,  on  the  ful- 
filment of  prophecy.  It  is  a  matter-of-fact 
volume,  and  gives  you  the  argument  in  a 
dense  and  lucid  form. 

4.  And  now,  in  conclusion,  what  shall  we 
say,  in  regard  to  the  bearing  of  scripture 
prophecy  on  the  truth  of  Christianity?  Is 
it  not  powerful  and  convincing?  God  alone 
can  foretell  future  events  which  are  not  the  re- 
sult of  the  laws  of  nature;  and  when  such 
events  are  foretold,  and  afterwards  come  to 
pass,  in  exact  correspondence  with  the  pre- 
diction, and,  professedly,  for  the  confirmation 


LECTURE  V.  151 

of  the  doctrine  taught,  it  is,  clearly,  the  di- 
vine attestation  to  the  truth  of  the  doctrine; 
for  the  Divine  Being  would  not,  could  not, 
without  denying  himself,  bear  witness  to  a 
falsehood.  When  he  is  said  to  send  false  pro- 
phets, with  deceitful  messages,  to  a  wicked 
people,  who  would  have  it  so,*  the  meaning 
obviously  is,  that  he  would  not  restrain 
them,  or  supersede  their  personal  responsi- 
bility. And,  when  his  chosen  prophets  allege 
as,  in  a  few  instances,  they  do,  that  he  had 
deceived  them,  he  is  in  no  way  responsible 
for  their  rash  conclusion.  He  never  inspired 
them  to  say  so.  It  ought  not  to  be  forgotten, 
that  prophetic  inspiration  is  not  personal 
sanctification.  The  men  that  are  made  use 
of,  by  God,  for  certain  purposes  of  mercy  or 
judgment,  are  not  made  perfect  and  faultless. 
His  infallible  guidance  does  not  attend  them, 
more  than  other  men,  into  their  private  walks, 
or  in  the  transaction  of  ordinary  business 
with  mankind.  It  is  in  the  announcement  of 
messages  which  he  dictates,  and  in  the  re- 
cording of  what  he  would  have  recorded,  for 
his  own  glory  and  the  good  of  the  world, 

*  1  Kings  xxii. 


152  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

that  he  moves  and  guards  them  from  error. 
If,  therefore,  you  find  Moses  and  David  and 
Peter,  and  others  doing  or  saying  wrong 
things,  in  their  private  and  uncommissioned 
capacity,  don't  charge  God  blasphemously 
with  being  the  author  of  their  sin.  If  God 
gave  Joshua  a  commission  to  destroy,  or  dis- 
possess the  Canaanites,  and  you  know  one 
people  are  often  employed  to  punish  another, 
that  gave  him  no  right  to  molest  a  nation 
to  whom  he  was  not  sent.  God  employed 
Balaam  to  utter  a  prophecy  concerning  Christ, 
but,  for  all  that,  we  know,  he  did  not  make 
him  a  good  man:  nay,  he  used  the  most  stupid 
of  animals  to  rebuke  him  for  his  madness. 
God  inspired  Peter  to  carry  the  gospel  to 
Cornelius  and  others,  but  he  surely  did  not 
inspire  him  to  deny  his  Lord.  The  man's 
personal  character  is  not  to  be  confounded 
with  his  prophetic  instrumentality.  Keep 
this  common-sense  distinction  in  view,  and  it 
will  save  you  from  a  world  of  difficulties, 
and  preserve  the  strong  argument  from  pro- 
phecy, in  all  its  vigour;  and,  an  argument  it 
is,  which  you  cannot  ponder  too  seriously;  the 
more  you  examine  it,  in  the  light  of  unbiassed 
reason,  and  with  earnest  prayer  to  the  Father 
of  lights,  the  more  you  will  feel  its  weight. 


LECTURE  VI.  153 


LECTURE  VI. 

THE  RISE  AND  PROGRESS  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

The  rapid  propagation,  continuance,  and 
present  state  of  the  Christian  religion  cannot 
be  satisfactorily  accounted  for,  but  by  sup- 
posing that  a  special  divine  favour  was,  and 
is  still  exercised  in  its  support.  To  establish 
and  illustrate  this  general  proposition,  is  the 
design  of  the  present  lecture.  To  make  good 
our  position,  we  invite  attention  to  a  grave 
and  dispassionate  consideration  of  the  gene- 
ral character  of  the  religion  itself;  the  ob- 
stacles in  the  way  of  its  reception  and  pro- 
gress; the  means  employed  in  its  introduction 
and  advancement;  and  the  internal  difficulties 
it  has  had,  and  now  has  to  contend  with, 
arising  out  of  the  bad  policy  and  misconduct 
of  its  professed  friends:  and,  (if  time  permit,) 
we  will  add,  the  partial  accomplishment,  in 
its  prevalence  hitherto,  of  its  own  stupen- 
dous scheme  of  prophecy. 
14* 


154  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

I.  The  religion  itself  is  singular,  in  many 
respects.  It  ought  not  to  be  called  new;  for 
it  is,  in  fact,  the  oldest  in  the  world:  that  is 
— it  is  the  old,  primitive  religion,  in  a  new 
style — divested  of  its  types  and  shadows,  and 
presented  in  a  more  luminous  and  simplified 
form,  adapted  to  universal  use  and  diffusion 
among  mankind.  Yet  it  is  singular  in  its 
origin,  having  been,  substantially  and  virtu- 
ally, in  existence  and  operation,  long  before 
its  founder  made  his  visible  advent  among 
men ;  singular,  in  the  person  of  its  author  and 
finisher,  Emmanuel,  God  with  us — Deity  and 
humanity  in  union;  singular,  in  the  fulness  of 
its  communications — informing  us  that  there 
is  a  God — one  living  and  eternal  intelligence, 
that  made,  and  that  governs  all  things,  by  a 
providence  so  minute  as  to  reach  the  smallest 
bird,  and  the  loftiest  angel — the  atom  that 
floats  in  the  sunbeam,  and  the  comet  in  its 
eccentric  flight;  a  providence  that  regards 
and  orders  our  domestio  affairs,  while  it  re- 
gulates the  springs  and  holds  the  lever  that 
moves  the  nations; — thus  differing  from  the 
prating  philosophy  that  imagines  a  creator 
and  calls  it  chance,  or  fate.  This  religion 
teaches  us,  how  we  became  the  guilty,  help- 


LECTURE  VI.  155 

less  creatures  that  we  are,  and  is  very  singu- 
lar in  the  amplitude  of  its  provisions  to  meet 
our  necessities,  by  its  mediatorial  system — 
its  spiritual  influence — its  atonement  and  per- 
fect righteousness,  to  be  received  and  enjoyed 
by  faith;  thus,  rising  above  natural  religion, 
and  differing  from  Deism,  which  proposes  to 
work  its  own  way  and  secure  its  own  peace, 
without  foreign  aid.  It  is  singular,  in  that 
it  opposes  and  denounces,  without  compro- 
mise, the  predominant  passions  and  inclina- 
tions of  men,  whom  it  comes,  professedly,  to 
bless  and  to  save;  and,  so  differs  from  Mo- 
hammedism  and  other  pliant  devices  of  that 
sort.  It  is  singular,  in  its  high  claims  and 
bold  pretensions,  coming  with  a  "  thus  saith 
the  lord,"  and  demanding  acceptance  and 
obedience,  on  pain  of  utter  ruin,  refusing  to 
share  the  homage  of  mankind,  in  common 
with  other  religions;  thus,  differing  from  pa- 
ganism, which  had  its  thirty  thousand  god3 
in  Greece  alone,  all  willing,  it  is  said,  to  live 
and  let  live;  and  in  this  way  evincing,  what 
has  been  called  an  unsocial  and  illiberal 
spirit.  But,  if  it  be  true  and  divine,  this  ex- 
clusiveness  is  benevolent  and  right;  for,  then, 
no  system  opposed  to  it,  or  essentially  differ- 


156  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

ing  from  it,  can  be  true:  and  what  fellowship 
hath  truth  with  error,  or  light  with  darkness? 
How  can  two  walk  together  except  they  be 
agreed?  Finally,  this  religion  is  distin- 
guished from  all  others,  in  its  direct  claim 
upon  the  whole  heart,  insisting  on  repentance 
and  the  renunciation  of  idols,  followed  up  by 
a  life  of  holiness ;  and  in  its  explicit  disclosure 
of  a  future  state  of  eternal  rewards  and  pu- 
nishments, the  all-powerful  motive  to  holiness, 
and  the  sure  anchor-ground  of  hope.  In 
few  words,  this  religion,  in  its  leading  doc- 
trines and  requirements,  is  very  unaccept- 
able, nay,  repulsive  to  the  native  pride  and 
haughtiness  of  the  human  heart.  See  a  sum- 
mary of  its  graces,  or  the  dispositions  of  mind 
which  it  inspires  and  commends,  in  the  ser- 
mon on  the  mount,  beginning  with  the  fifth 
chapter  of  Matt,  viz. :  penitence,  humility, 
meekness,  gentleness,  purity  of  heart,  the  love 
of  holiness,  peacemaking,  quiet  submission 
to  slander  and  persecution  for  righteousness' 
sake,  forgiveness  of  injuries,  the  love  of 
enemies,  unobtrusiveness  in  prayer  and  alms- 
giving, self-denial,  spiritual-mindedness,  pu- 
rity of  motive,  and  unreserved  devotion  to 
every  good  word  and  work.     How  unlike 


LECTURE  VI.  157 

are  these  qualities  to  what  is  generally  ex- 
hibited and  admired  in  the  world!     How 
could  such  a  religion  gain  admission  and  pre- 
vail among  a  people  addicted  to  forms  and 
external  rites,  as  was  the  case  with  both  Jews 
and  Gentiles,  and  which  had  little  to  do  with 
the  heart,  and  almost  no  influence  on  private 
character  and  public  morals?     It  was  dia- 
metrically opposed  to  the  theories  of  phi- 
losophers, and  the  long-established  habits  of 
the  common  people.     It  must  have  been  re- 
garded as  an  intruder,  and  unworthy  of  a 
hearing:  and  one  of  the  greatest  wonders  in 
its  history  is,  that  it  was  not  instantly  silenced 
and  smothered  in  its  cradle.     This  would, 
undoubtedly,  have  been  its  fate,  had  it  not 
been  of  God  and  under  his  almighty  patron- 
age ;  for  look,  secondly,  at  the  obstacles  which 
lay  in  the  way  of  its  introduction  and  preva- 
lence.    The  first,  and  that  which  must  ever 
prove  insurmountable,  without  divine  influ- 
ence, is  the  repugnance  of  the  human  heart 
to  proffered  assistance,  of  which  it  feels  no 
need.     The  rich  will  not  accept  a  gratuity, 
unless  it  be  as  a  token  of  esteem.     A  man  in 
health,  or  who  fancies  himself  so,  will  not 
follow  the  prescriptions  of  a  physician.    The 


158  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

gospel  comes  to  men  with  provisions  of  grace, 
predicated  on  their  guilt  and  helplessness. 
Its  first  demand  is  repentance  and  the  accept- 
ance of  this  grace.  But  where  there  is  no 
proper  sense  of  sin,  the  offer,  instead  of  being 
thankfully  received,  will  rather  be  regarded 
as  an  insult.  Repentance  is  deemed  a  very 
easy  matter,  when  one  sees  occasion  for  it ; 
and  the  Divine  Being  is  supposed  to  be  in- 
capable of  refusing  forgiveness  to  the  penitent. 
This  is  the  reason  why  the  gospel  is  so  un- 
ceremoniously rejected  now ;  and  it  was  so  in 
the  apostolic  age.  How,  then,  could  it  have 
gained  admittance  into  so  many  hearts  as 
were  opened  to  receive  it,  on  the  day  of  Pen- 
tecost, under  the  preaching  of  Peter,  had  not 
the  Holy  Spirit  attended  it,  by  his  convincing 
power  ? 

Another  obstinate  hinderance  to  the  recep- 
tion and  progress  of  the  gospel  was,  the 
death  of  Christ  by  crucifixion.  "Let  all  the 
house  of  Israel  know  assuredly,  that  God  hath 
made  that  same  Jesus,  whom  ye  have  cruci- 
fied, both  Lord  and  Christ."  This  declara- 
tion was  made  by  Peter  in  a  large  assembly 
composed,  chiefly,  of  Jews.  How  incredible 
such  an  announcement  must  have  seemed  to 


LECTURE  VI.  159 

a  people  whose  confident  expectation  was, 
that  when  the  Christ  came,  he  would  set  up 
an  earthly  kingdom,  of  unrivalled  splendour, 
and  make  them  the  first  participants  of  its 
honours  and  emoluments  !  According  to  the 
principles  that  ordinarily  govern  men,  their 
emotions  must  have  been  those  of  rage  and 
contempt.  For  the  cross,  and  all  who  suf- 
fered upon  it,  they  entertained  the  utmost 
abhorrence.  "  Cursed  is  every  one  that 
hangeth  on  a  tree,"  was  one  of  their  proverbs. 
So  far  from  feeling  compunction  under  the 
Apostle's  charge  of  their  having  crucified  the 
Lord's  anointed,  they  gloried  in  what  they 
had  done,  fully  persuaded  that,  in  delivering 
Jesus  over  to  the  secular  authorities  to  be 
crucified,  they  had  given  a  death-blow  to  the 
pretensions  of  an  impostor,  and  blasted  the 
hopes  of  his  disciples.  "Come  down  from 
the  cross,  if  thou  be  the  Son  of  God,"  said 
they.  "He  saved  others,  himself  he  cannot 
save." 

And  as  the  doctrine  of  a  crucified  Saviour 
was,  to  the  Jews,  a  stumbling-block,  so  was 
it  foolishness  to  the  Greeks.  That  an  obscure 
individual,  who  had  been,  by  his  countrymen, 
subjected  to  so  ignominious  a  death,  as  that 


160  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

of  crucifixion,  should  be  proclaimed  as  the 
Redeemer  of  the  world,  and  that  all  men 
should  be  called  upon  to  believe  and  obey 
him  on  pain  of  endless  perdition,  was,  in  itself, 
revolting  and  repulsive  to  all  their  natural 
feelings  and  habits  of  thought.  Yet  this  was 
the  grand  theme  of  the  gospel.  It  was  the 
doctrine  of  Christ,  and  the  motto  inscribed  on 
every  banner  that  was  unfurled  in  his  name. 
The  apostles  preached  it  wherever  they  went; 
and  that  not  with  caution  and  softening  para- 
phrase, but  explicitly  and  with  glorying. 
"  I  determined,"  said  Paul  to  the  people  of 
Corinth,  "not  to  know  anything  among  you, 
save  Christ  and  him  crucified.  "God  for- 
bid," said  he  to  the  Galatians  of  Asia  Minor, 
"  that  I  should  glory,  save  in  the  cross  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  the  world  is 
crucified  unto  me,  and  I  unto  the  world." 
Now,  looking  at  the  matter  in  the  light  of 
nature,  merely,  what  ground  of  hope  was 
there  that  such  preaching  could  make  con- 
verts? Yet  it  did;  and  that,  too,  in  vast  num- 
bers, among  as  licentious  and  skeptical  a 
generation  as  ever  existed.  But  how  ?  Not 
by  enticing  words  of  man's  wisdom — not  by 
the  arts  of  elocution  and  moral  suasion;  but 


LECTURE  VI.  161 

by  the  ministration  of  the  Spirit,  making  it 
"the  power  of  God,  and  the  wisdom  of  God 
unto  salvation."  Here  is  a  palpable  and  un- 
deniable effect,  for  which  no  other  adequate 
cause  can  be  assigned. 

The  time  and  place,  at  which  the  propaga- 
tion was  commenced,  would  seem,  in  the  eye 
of  reason,  to  present  an  obstacle  to  its  recep- 
tion and  progress.  It  was  an  age  of  high  attain- 
ments in  literature  and  science; — the  Augus- 
tan age,  when  the  chief  places  in  the  empire 
were  filled  with  philosophers,  orators,  histo- 
rians and  poets.     It  was  a  time  of  literary 
light  and  learned  leisure.     The  temple  of 
Janus  was  shut,  and  men  were  keenly  dis- 
posed to  watch  and  criticise  pretensions  of 
science  and  religion.     It  was  not  an  age  of 
credulity,  but  of  unwonted  skepticism.    The 
Epicurean  philosophy,  falsely  called  philoso- 
phy, had  swallowed  up  most  other  notions 
and  theories  on  the  subject  of  religion.     It 
repudiated  the  distinction  of  right  and  wrong 
in  moral  conduct,  made  animal  pleasure  the 
chief  good,  and  scouted  the   doctrine  of  a 
future  state.    The  disciples  of  Epicurus  de- 
nied the  being  of  a  God,  or,  at  least,  repre- 
sented him  as  reclining  in  a  sort  of  torpor, 
15 


162  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

disdaining  to  take  any  notice  of  what  is  going 
on  in  this  little  world.  It  was,  in  fact,  a  pe- 
riod of  the  world  very  inauspicious  to  the  in- 
troduction of  a  false  religion.  The  philoso- 
phers of  all  sects  laughed  in  their  sleeves  at 
the  popular  gods,  and  expected  nothing  from 
them.  Religion  was  generally  looked  upon 
as  a  matter  of  form,  and  useful,  only  as  a  po- 
litical engine.  Any  thing  new  in  the  reli- 
gious way  was  eyed  with  jealousy,  and  met 
with  jeers  and  sarcasm.  There  were  gods 
enough  in  the  calendar;  and  their  worship 
was  viewed  rather  as  pastime  than  devotion 
of  soul.  The  fine  arts  and  elegant  literature 
were  cultivated  to  the  highest  pitch :  so  that 
Christianity  cannot  be  said  to  have  been  in- 
troduced in  an  age  of  ignorance  and  super- 
stition. It  was  confessedly  an  age  of  reading 
and  incredulity.  The  place,  too,  seems  to 
have  been  against  the  success  of  the  enter- 
prise. Jerusalem  and  the  country  around  it, 
where  many  were  still  living  who  had  wit- 
nessed the  life  and  death  of  Christ,  were  the 
most  likely  places  to  meet  with  opposition 
and  discomfiturethat  could  have  been  chosen. 
Those  who  had  delivered  him  to  be  crucified 
were  deeply  interested  to  blacken  his  charac- 
ter, and  resist  the  labours  of  his  ministers. 


LECTURE  VI.  163 

Mohammed  was  much  more  politic,  both  as 
to  time  and  place,  for  the  introduction  of  his 
religion,  than  were  the  apostles,  in  regard 
to  that  of  their  Master.  He  chose  the  se- 
venth century, — a  time  of  gross  darkness, — 
and  Arabia,  the  most  ignorant  country  then 
known,  as  the  scene  of  his  first  efforts.  In- 
deed, it  is  plain  the  apostles  did  not  select 
their  fields  of  labour  with  a  view  to  personal 
convenience,  or  to  success  in  their  preach- 
ing. They  felt  that  they  were  under  divine 
guidance,  and  went,  straightway,  whitherso- 
ever God  called  them.  When  they  left  Ju- 
dea,  they  did  not  content  themselves  with 
preaching  to  country  people  and  villages,  but 
pressed  into  the  chief  cities,  often  at  the  risk 
of  their  lives,  and  without  waiting  to  know 
whether  the  citizens  would  be  disposed  to 
hear  them  or  not.  We  find  them  at  Rome, 
Athens,  Corinth,  Ephesus,  Antioch,  in  all 
places  of  concourse.  Their  object  was  to  get 
a  hearing,  trusting  that  if  they  could  get  ac- 
cess to  the  ear,  the  Spirit  that  attended  their 
ministry  would  open  a  way  for  their  messages 
to  the  heart.  "  Faith  cometh  by  hearing." 
"  It  pleased  God,  by  the  foolishness  of  preach- 
ing, to  save  them  that  believe.'7    Accordingly, 


164  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

the  first  sermon  that  was  delivered  under  the 
new  dispensation,  was  the  means  of  making 
three  thousand  converts,  and  that  at  Jerusa- 
lem, in  sight  of  the  mount  on  which  the  Re- 
deemer was  crucified.  How  can  we  account 
for  this  fact,  without  supposing  a  divine  influ- 
ence? These  considerations  are  of  weight. 
Here  is  a  religion  rising  into  notice  on  the 
very  spot  where  the  facts  connected  with  it 
had  taken  place  and  were  well  known.  It 
then  goes  forth  into  the  heart  of  a  polished, 
but  profligate  world,  and  lays  its  holy  obliga- 
tions on  a  reckless  atheism,  and  the  worst 
passions  of  the  human  mind.  "  By  its  meek 
spirit  and  pure  doctrine,  it  triumphs  over  the 
influence  of  education,  the  force  of  habit,  the 
weight  of  authority,  the  craft  of  a  corrupt 
priesthood,  the  policy  of  legislators,  the  ge- 
nius of  poets  and  philosophers,  the  fascination 
of  oracles  and  prodigies,  the  shafts  of  scorn 
and  ridicule,  and  the  rites  of  an  idolatry  sup- 
ported by  remote  antiquity,  universal  diffu- 
sion, and  inseparable  conjunction  with  the 
laws  and  usages,  and  fancied  prosperity  of 
each  state."*     Who  can  see  all  this,  and  not 

*  Bishop  Wilson. 


LECTURE  VI.  165 

recognize  in  it  the  hand  and  patronage  of 
heaven  ?  The  visible  agency  will  not  account 
for  the  fact. 

We  have  anticipated,  in  some  measure,  ob- 
servations, which  belong,  more  properly,  to 
the  last  and  most  formidable  obstacle  which 
we  shall  notice,  viz. : 

The  unrelenting  spirit  of  persecution  which 
came  out  against  the  gospel  and  its  adherents. 
This  spirit  was  evinced  and  acted  out  by  Jew 
and  Gentile.  The  pretext  was  that  the  reli- 
gion of  Christ  assumed  too  much  authority; 
it  was  too  exclusive,  and  unbending  in  its 
claims, — it  must  be  every  thing  or  nothing. 
It  was  unsocial  and  uncompromising.  It 
would  not  be  associated,  even  with  the  ritual 
of  Moses.  It  rebuked  those  who  sat  in  Moses' 
seat,  charging  them  with  having  made  the  law 
of  God  of  no  effect,  by  their  traditions.  The 
Jewish  sacraments  were  to  be  superseded  by 
Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper.  The  great 
festivals  were  to  be  discontinued.  A  holy  life 
was  to  be  preferred  to  ostentatious  prayers, 
and  expensive  offerings.  A  sacrifice  had  now 
been  made  once  for  all.  The  types  had  an- 
swered their  purpose,  and  must  give  place  to 
the  substance.  The  priesthood  was  changed, 
15* 


166  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

—or,  rather,  there  were  to  be  no  priests  under 
the  new  dispensation,  but  only  ministers  of 
the   word   and   ordinances   of  Christianity. 
Simplicity  and  godly  sincerity  were  to  take 
the  place  of  rites  and  forms,  not  involving 
the  vitality  of  religion.     Men  were,  hence- 
forth, to  rely  wholly  on  the  merits  of  Christ, 
and  renounce  their  own  works,  as  of  no  avail 
in  the  matter  of  justification.     God  was  to  be 
worshipped,  in  spirit  and  in  truth,  not  at  the 
temple  in  Jerusalem,  for  that  was  to  be  de- 
molished, but  wherever  two  or  three  should 
meet  for  the  purpose,  in  the  name  of  Christ; 
and  all  nations  were  to  be  placed  on  an  equal 
footing,  in  regard  to  the  blessings  and  immu- 
nities of  the  kingdom  of  heaven.     All  this 
was  intolerable.     Such  an  entire  revolution 
was  not  to  be  submitted  to  by  a  people  who 
had  long  been  distinguished  by  divine  good- 
ness, and  had  come  to  a  fixed  belief  that  they 
were  a  privileged  nation.    The  Jew,  there- 
fore, though  not  possessing  the  power  of  life 
and  death,  threw  his  whole  influence  into  the 
hand  of  the  pagan  authorities,  and  there  was, 
for  the  first  time,  a  union  of  purpose  between 
them,  and  that  purpose  was  for  the  extermi- 
nation of  Christianity.     The  gentile  powers, 


LECTURE  VI.  167 

thus  encouraged  by  Jewish  bigotry,  opened 
their  batteries  and  set  their  engines  of  death 
in  operation,  against  the  unarmed  and  non- 
resistant  Christians,  with  a  ferocity  and  un- 
relenting fury  quite  unparalleled  and  inde- 
scribable. All  who  professed  the  new  and  de- 
spised religion  were  deprived  of  property, 
country,  liberty,  and  life,  if  they  persisted  in 
their  adhesion.  For  more  than  three  hundred 
years  the  blood  of  martyrs  flowed  in  torrents. 
Christians  were  called  atheists  because  they 
refused  to  worship  false  gods; — misanthro- 
pists, because  they  would  not  join  the  world 
in  its  idolatry  and  vice.  The  only  crimes  al- 
leged against  them,  according  to  Tacitus  the 
historian,  and  Pliny,  the  governor  of  Bithy- 
nia,  who  both  lived  within  the  first  century, 
was  a  rigid  adherence  to  Christ,  and  a  refusal 
to  offer  incense  to  the  popular  gods,  which  the 
former  calls  "a  pestilent  superstition,  which 
ought  to  be  severely  punished ; "  and  the  latter, 
in  his  letter  to  Trajan,  the  Emperor,  says,  that 
"  from  the  best  account  he  could  obtain  of 
their  religion,  (whether  it  should  be  called  a 
crime  or  error,  he  was  doubtful,)  it  consisted 
in  their  meeting  on  a  certain  day,  before  day- 
light, to  sing  a  hymn  to  Christ  as  to  a  god, 


168  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

and  to  bind  themselves  by  an  oath,  not  to  com- 
mit any  wickedness,  but  to  abstain  from  thefts, 
robberies,  and  adulteries;  not  to  violate  their 
promise  or  deny  a  pledge;  after  which  it  was 
their  custom  to  separate,  and  meet  again  at  a 
promiscuous,  harmless  meal."  Such  was  the 
amount  of  their  offending;  and  for  this  "pesti- 
lent superstition,"  and  strict  adherence  to 
their  principles,  they  were  to  be  punished, 
without  distinction  of  age  or  sex.  The  most 
barbarous  tortures  were  inflicted  on  them 
that  ingenious  malice  could  invent;  such  as 
the  rack,  the  wheel,  throwing  to  wild  beasts, 
tearing  the  body  asunder,  while  yet  alive, 
burning  in  pitched  coats,  boiling  in  oil  or 
melted  lead,  crucifixion  with  the  head  down- 
ward, <fcc.  The  persecutions  followed  one 
another  in  rapid  succession.  We  will  give 
you  a  list  of  them,  from  Dr.  Gregory's  letters, 
a  work  of  great  merit.  "The  first  formal 
state  assault  began  under  Nero,  A.  D.  65 ;  the 
second,  under  Domitian,  A.D.  90;  the  third, 
under  Trajan,  A.D.  100;  the  fourth,  under 
Adrian,  A.D.  126,  and  continued  under  An- 
toninus Pius  to  A.D.  140;  the  fifth,  under 
Marcus  Aurelius,  A.D.  162;  the  sixth,  under 
Severus,  A.D.  203;  the  seventh,  under  Maxi- 


LECTURE  VI.  169 

minus,  A.D.  236;  the  eighth,  under  Decius, 
A.D.  251;  the  ninth,  under  Valerian,  A.D. 
258;  and  the  tenth,  under  Dioclesian,  A.D. 
303."  And  what,  you  will  ask,  was  the  na- 
ture of  these  persecutions?  In  reply,  we  will 
briefly  describe  the  last.  In  the  edict  issued 
by  Dioclesian,  in  303,  he  commanded  all  the 
churches  to  be  demolished,  and  the  Christians 
to  be  deprived  of  their  sacred  writings,  and 
of  all  their  civil  privileges  and  immunities. 
This  occasioned  the  death  of  very  many  who 
refused  to  surrender  their  sacred  books  to  the 
magistrates.  Tertullian  says  20,000  Chris- 
tians were  burned  by  Dioclesian's  orders  on 
one  Christmas  day ;  of  whom  many  were  con- 
sumed in  a  church  where  they  were  assembled 
for  worship.  The  second  edict  ordered  the 
imprisonment  of  all  bishops  and  ministers  of 
the  gospel.  A  third  commanded  that  the 
most  exquisite  tortures  should  be  employed 
to  compel  these  captives  to  lead  the  way  in 
open  apostasy.  In  a  fourth,  promulgated  in 
A.D.  304,  magistrates  were  enjoined  to  inflict 
tortures  upon  all  Christians  without  distinc- 
tion of  rank  or  sex,  for  the  purpose  of  forcing 
them  to  renounce  their  religion.  These  edicts, 
which  extended  over  the  whole  Roman  Em- 


170  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

pire,  with  the  exception  of  Gaul,  were  exe- 
cuted with  such  active,  brutal,  and  successful 
zeal,  that  pillars  were  erected  in  Spain,  in 
honour  of  Dioclesian,  for  having,  every  where 
abolished  the  superstition  of  Christ,  and  a 
medal  of  this  emperor  was  struck,  with  the 
inscription,  "  Nomine  Christianorum  deleto ; " 
"the  name  of  Christians  being  blotted  out.' 
Let  this  imperfect  picture  serve  as  a  specimen 
of  the  bloody  doings  of  three  centuries,  under 
the  reign  of  imperial  paganism. 

Yet,  strange  to  tell,  the  religion  of  Christ? 
even  amidst  such  fiery  trials,  and  in  the 
face  of  such  furious  opposition,  continued 
to  spread  and  flourish.  "  The  blood  of  the 
martyrs  became  the  seed  of  the  church.7' 
"The  more  you  mow  us  down,"  said  one  of 
the  apologists  to  the  persecutors, "  the  thicker 
we  rise:  the  Christian  blood  you  spill  is  like 
the  seed  you  sow;  it  springs  from  the  earth 
again,  and  fructifies  the  more."  Tertullian. 
The  long  continuance  of  this  violent  opposition 
to  Christianity,  is  worthy  of  special  notice,  in 
connection  with  its  advancement,  and  the 
unyielding  firmness  and  zeal  of  its  disciples. 
Almost  any  scheme  of  religion,  however  ab- 
surd,  will    gather    proselytes  for  a  time. 


LECTURE  VI.  171 

There  are  always  to  be  found  persons  hang- 
ing loosely  on  the  skirts  of  organized  reli- 
gious societies,  and  multitudes  attached  to 
no  denomination,  who  can  be  induced,  by  a 
little  cunning  and  a  good  deal  of  boldness, 
on  the  part  of  the  leaders,  to  join  in  an  en- 
terprise of  doubtful  issue.  But  when  they 
find  that  they  must  make  heavy  sacrifices 
and  encounter  serious  difficulties,  and  perils 
of  property  and  life,  they  are  very  apt  to 
drop  off.  In  this  way,  many  a  wild  project, 
with  religion  for  its  watchword,  but  no  truth 
at  bottom,  has  failed  so  soon  and  so  com- 
pletely, as  not  to  find  a  place  in  history.  A 
religion,  to  gain  any  considerable  standing 
in  the  world,  must  either  be  founded  in  truth 
and  sustained  by  evidence,  or  be  so  pliant 
and  accommodating  to  the  selfish  passions  of 
men,  as  not  only  to  require  no  self-denial  of 
its  votaries,  but  open  before  them  the  path- 
way to  wealth,  or  fame,  or  places  of  power. 
Now  here  is  a  religion  of  self-denial,  through- 
out; a  religion  of  strict  laws,  giving  no 
quarters  to  pride,  revenge,  evil-concupi- 
scence, or  even  worldly-mindedness;  a  reli- 
gion of  the  heart,  that  pronounces  a  mali- 
cious desire,  virtual  murder;  a  lustful  look, 


172  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

adultery,  and  covetousness,  idolatry;  a  reli- 
gion so  unpopular  as  to  be  every  where 
spoken  against;  assailed  at  every  step  by 
slander  and  ridicule,  fire  and  sword,  for 
more  than  three  hundred  years,  yet  gaining 
upon  the  world,  in  its  influence,  with  a  ra- 
pidity unexampled  and  unaccountable,  unless 
we  suppose  an  unseen  power  bearing  it  on- 
ward, and  securing  its  victories  by  light  and 
love.     For  look,  in  the  next  place,  at 

3.  The  visible  means  and  agencies  em- 
ployed in  its  propagation.  Twelve  men,  from 
the  humblest  walks  of  life,  with  little  edu- 
cation, no  wealth,  no  power,  no  influence, 
and  no  influential  connections;  nothing  but 
honesty,  simplicity,  perseverance,  and  fear- 
lessness, in  declaring  what  they  believe  to 
be  the  truth.  They  profess,  indeed,  to  work 
miracles  and  deliver  prophecies,  as  proofs  of 
their  divine  mission;  but,  if  we  deny  these, 
and  charge  the  men  with  fanaticism  or  im- 
posture, then  we  have  agencies  quite  dispro- 
portioned  to  the  undeniable  results  of  their 
action. 

The  method,  or  means  adopted  to  give  cur- 
rency to  their  doctrine,  seems  also  unequal 
to  the  effects  produced.    It  was  not  by  en- 


LECTURE  VI.  173 

i 

ticing  words  of  man's  wisdom,  nor  pro- 
found reasoning  or  moving  eloquence;  but 
unpolished  statements  made  as  if  true  and 
authoritative,  without  anticipating  objec- 
tions, or  any  pains-taking  to  meet  and  an- 
swer them.  The  utmost  simplicity  and  dis- 
tinctness marked  the  style  of  the  first 
preachers.  Their  doctrines  were  exempli- 
fied in  their  own  lives,  and  urged  by  mo- 
tives of  the  tenderest  and  most  awakening 
kind.  It  was  uniformly  declared  or  implied, 
in  their  discourses,  that  a  cordial  belief  and 
practical  use  of  their  doctrines,  were  essen- 
tial to  salvation.  All  this  seemed  calculated 
to  rouse  opposition,  as  it  implied  censure  of 
the  established  and  prevalent  religions. 
11  Except  ye  repent,"  says  Christ, "  ye  shall  all 
likewise  perish.  He  that  hath  the  Son,  hath 
life;  he  that  hath  not  the  Son,  shall  not  see 
life,  but  the  wrath  of  God  abideth  on  him. 
He  that  receiveth  you,  receiveth  me;  and  he 
that  receiveth  me,  receiveth  him  that  sent 
me.  God  hath  given  to  us  eternal  life,  and 
this  life  is  in  his  Son;  neither  is  there  salva- 
tion in  any  other."  Such  language  must  have 
been  provoking  and  repulsive  to  Jewish 
bigotry  and  Gentile  pride.  True,  the  first 
16 


174  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

Christians  evinced  great  meekness  and  pa- 
tience under  insult  and  suffering,  and,  in  or- 
dinary circumstances,  these  qualities  would 
not  be  without  some  effect;  but  of  what 
avail  could  the  passive  virtues  be,  in  over- 
coming religious  prejudice  and  secular  au- 
thorities, all  powerful,  and  arrayed  against 
those  who  were  regarded  as  innovators  and 
"  setters-forth  of  strange  gods/'  as  the  men 
of  Athens  said  of  Paul,  when  he  preached  to 
them  Jesus  and  the  resurrection?  Is  it  not 
perfectly  manifest  that  the  attempt  to  pro- 
pagate such  a  religion,  in  such  circumstances, 
and  by  such  men  and  means,  must  have 
proved  abortive,  had  there  not  been  an  in- 
visible power  abetting  and  urging  it  for- 
ward? Yet  this  religion  did  prevail  and 
triumph  to  an  extent  unparalleled.  We  may 
not  enlarge  on  this  point,  but  it  claims  some 
notice.  "  I  believe,"  says  Dr.  Gregory,  "  it  is 
an  undeniable  fact,  that,  before  the  end  of 
the  second  century,  Christianity  had  been 
more  widely  disseminated  over  the  face  of 
the  earth  than  any  one  religion,  true  or 
false.  Heathenism  in  all  its  variety  of  dis- 
mal shades,  had  been  thickening  for  thou- 
sands of  years,  until  darkness  covered  the 


LECTURE  VI.  175 

earth  and  gross  darkness  the  people.   But  as 
the  natural  sun  chases  away  darkness  from 
whole  regions,  so,  with  analogous  rapidity, 
did  the  Sun  of  righteousness  dispel  the  moral 
gloom  which  every  where  prevailed."     And 
the  following  is  the  reluctant  testimony  of 
Gibbon,  in  his  Roman  history, — "The  pro- 
gress of  Christianity  was  120  at  the  ascen- 
sion; soon  after,  3000;  then,  5000;  and  in 
little  less  than  two  years  after  the  ascen- 
sion, it  reached  great  multitudes  at  Jerusa- 
lem only.    Mohammed  was  three  years  si- 
lently occupied    in  making  fourteen  con- 
verts, and  they  of  his  own  family,  and  pro- 
ceeded so  slowly  at  Mecca,  that  in  the  seventh 
year,  only  83  men  and  18  women  retired  to 
Ethiopia;  and  he  had  no  established  reli- 
gion at  Mecca  to  contend  with."    Upon  ad- 
mitting the  fact  of  the  wonderful  spread  of 
the  gospel,  this  bitter  enemy  of  the  cross 
undertakes  to  account  for  it,  by  natural  or 
second  causes.    He  assigns  five,  viz.: — "  The 
inflexible   and  intolerant  zeal  of  the  first 
Christians — the  doctrine  of  a  future  state, 
improved  by  every  circumstance  that  could 
give  weight  to  that  important  truth — the 
miraculous  powers  ascribed  to  the  primitive 


176  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

church — the  pure  and  austere  morals  of  the 
Christians — the  union  and  discipline  of  the 
Christian  republic,  (as  he  calls  it,)  which 
gradually  formed  an  independent  and  in- 
creasing state,  in  the  heart  of  the  Roman 
empire."  We  have  not  time,  now,  to  ana- 
lyze these  causes;  but  any  man  who  will 
take  the  trouble  to  examine  them,  will  see 
their  impotency  and  irrelevancy,  in  the  cir- 
cumstances of  the  case.  To  talk  about  the 
intolerance  of  the  primitive  Christians,  is  ab- 
surd enough.  How  could  they  be  intole- 
rant, in  any  other  sense  than  that  of  a  strict 
adherence  to  their  own  principles?  And  to 
call  that  intolerance  is  an  abuse  of  terms. 
The  power  of  coercion  was  in  other  hands ; 
theirs  was  a  moral  power,  the  power  of 
truth,  of  meekness,  of  love,  and  of  enduring 
all  sorts  of  inflictions,  with  a  patience  and 
joyfulness,  that  did,  indeed,  surprise  their 
persecutors;  but  it  did  not  convince  them. 
They  misnamed  it,  calling  it  obstinacy,  and 
determined  that  it  should  be  subdued.  The 
disciples  evinced  zeal  and  perseverance;  but 
these  were  the  effects  of  their  religion,  not 
the  cause  of  its  progress.  The  doctrine  of 
a  future  state,  clearly  revealed  as  it  was,  in 


LECTURE  YI.  177 

the  gospel,  probably,  had  some  effect;  though 
the  leading  sects  in  philosophy  ridiculed  it, 
and  the  vicious  hated  it,  because  of  the  fu- 
ture punishment  for  the  wicked,  which  it  in- 
volved. Something  may  also  be  conceded  to 
the  miraculous  powers,  not  only  "  ascribed  to 
the  primitive  church,"  but  actually  exercised 
by  the  founder  of  Christianity  and  his  apos- 
tles, yet  these,  when  admitted,  as  they  were 
by  Porphyry,  Celsus,  Julian,  and  others,  were 
ascribed  to  magic,  and,  thus,  their  power 
neutralized,  in  a  great  measure.  In  regard 
to  the  pure  morals  of  the  Christians,  which 
Gibbon  concedes,  and  (we  thank  him  for  the 
concession,)  these,  we  have  to  remark  again, 
were  the  fruits  of  their  faith,  and  could  not 
have  been  at  first,  the  cause  of  its  advance- 
ment. This  effect,  we  acknowledge,  did  be- 
come, in  process  of  time,  one  of  the  concur- 
rent and  secondary  causes  of  the  furtherance 
of  the  gospel,  on  the  obvious  principle,  that, 
11  the  tree  is  known  by  its  fruit."  But  the 
tree  must  have  root,  and  some  degree  of  ma- 
turity, before  the  fruit  can  appear.  The  his- 
torian's fifth  cause  of  the  rapid  spread  of  our 
religion,  viz.,  "  the  union  and  discipline  of 
the  church  or  Christian  republic,"  as  he  calls 
16* 


178  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

it,  brings  us  up  to  our  fourth  class  of  hin- 
derances  to  its  progress,  viz.: — 

4.  The  internal  difficulties,  which  arose 
early,  and  which  are  still  felt,  springing  out 
of  the  bad  policy  and  misconduct  of  some  of 
its  own  members  and  professed  friends.  Our 
remarks  on  this  topic  must  be  few.  The  best 
of  Heaven's  institutions  are  liable  to  abuse 
and  corruption  in  human  hands.  Christ  did 
design  union  and  discipline  in  his  church. 
He  did  state,  explicitly,  that  his  kingdom 
was  not  of  this  world,  and  that  its  affairs 
were  to  be  administered,  not  after  the  model 
of  worldly  policy,  but  on  principles  of  right- 
eousness, harmony  and  love.  "By  this  shall 
all  men  know  that  ye  are  my  disciples,  if  ye 
love  one  another."  "Be  of  one  heart,  and 
of  one  mind,"  say  the  apostles;  "mark  them 
that  cause  divisions  among  you,  and  avoid 
them.'7  "  See  that  ye  love  one  another,  with 
a  pure  heart,  fervently."  But,  some  of  the 
disciples,  falling  off  a  little  from  their  first 
love,  and  yielding  to  the  spirit  of  sect,  be- 
gan to  say, — "I  am  of  Paul,  and  I  am  of 
Apollos,  and  I  of  Cephas,  and  I  of  Christ." 
They  differed  about  preachers  and  preaching. 
The  ministers,  too,  that  came   into  office, 


LECTURE  VI.  179 

pretty  soon  after  the  apostles,  compassed 
with  infirmity,  like  other  men,  began  to  as- 
pire. Not  relishing  or  misinterpreting  the 
injunction, — "Be  not  called  rabbi;  for  one 
is  your  master,  and  all  ye  are  brethren,"  they 
set  about  some  supposed  improvements,  on 
the  original  plan.  Diotrephes  wanted  the 
pre-eminence.  There  ought,  it  was  alleged, 
to  be  some  distinction  of  rank  and  standing: 
as  there  was  a  diversity  of  gifts  and  attain- 
ments. Some  did  not  exactly  like  so  much 
simplicity  in  worship,  and  thought  it  would 
be  good  policy  to  have  a  selection  of  showy 
and  exciting  ceremonies  borrowed  from  their 
neighbours.  It  could  do  no  harm,  even  if 
not  provided  for  in  the  book  of  primitive  in- 
stitutes. And,  thus,  matters  went  on,  till, 
in  the  fourth  century,  the  state  took  the 
church  under  its  patronage,  and  the  emperor 
relieved  her,  in  a  great  measure,  of  the  trou- 
ble of  exercising  her  own  discipline.  He 
built  her  fine  houses,  and  adorned  her  in 
purple  robes.  Here  was  a  strange  mixing 
up  of  heterogeneous  elements.  The  Chris- 
tian republic  lost,  by  the  unnatural  junction, 
much  of  her  original  and  distinctive  charac- 
ter.   Outwardly,  she  seemed  prosperous,  her 


180  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

borders  were  extended,  her  coffers  were  re- 
plenished, and  her  accession  of  numbers  was 
quite  flattering;  but  there  was  a  sad  back- 
sliding of  heart.  The  changes,  desired  long 
by  some  of  her  ambitious  members,  were 
encouraged.  Certain  cities  were  made  me- 
tropolitan ;  grades  in  the  ministry  were  in- 
troduced, together,  with  vestments  and  robes 
of  office ;  the  mode  of  worship  was  rendered 
more  liberal  and  popular,  by  the  accumula- 
tion of  rites  and  ceremonies,  till  the  line  of 
demarcation  between  the  church  and  the 
world  could  scarcely  be  perceived.  Hypo- 
crisy grew  apace,  bickerings  and  strifes  in- 
creased; heresies  were  organized,  headed  by 
ambitious  and  godless  ministers;  Constanti- 
nople began  to  compete  with  Rome,  which 
resulted  in  a  division  of  the  churches  into 
the  eastern  and  western ;  a  breach  not  healed 
to  this  day.  Then,  instead  of  outward  pres- 
sure, internal  war  broke  out — a  war  of  con- 
troversy and  non-intercourse.  The  dark- 
ness increased,  schisms  multiplied ;  the  pious 
witnesses  for  God  and  his  truth  gradually 
withdrew  to  the  valleys,  that  they  might 
worship  their  Maker  in  peace,  and  preserve 
his  ordinances  from  utter  desecration.    The 


LECTURE  VI.  181 

dark  ages  ensued,  and  the  progress  from  bad 
to  worse  was  such,  that  Zion's  light  would 
have  been  extinguished,  had  not  her  God  re- 
membered his  promise,  that  uthe  gates  of 
hell  should  not  prevail  against  her,"  and,  by 
his  Providence  and  Spirit,  brought  about 
the  glorious  Reformation  of  the  sixteenth 
century.  This  formed  a  memorable  epoch, 
as  well  in  learning  as  religion.  But  even 
this  blissful  and  Heaven-directed  work  was 
marred,  and  defrauded  of  its  full  effect,  by 
contentions  and  conflicting  views  among  its 
leaders,  who  though  good  men,  upon  the 
whole,  were  fallible  and  subject,  except  in  so 
far  as  they  were  guided  by  the  wisdom  that 
is  from  above,  to  the  action  of  bad  influ- 
ences. Some  reformed  too  much,  perhaps, 
in  one  direction;  while  others  stopped  short, 
through  mistaken  notions  of  policy  and  ex- 
pediency. Thus,  you  find  among  Protes- 
tants, a  good  deal  of  difference,  particularly 
in  modes  and  forms,  although  there  is, 
really,  more  substantial  agreement  among 
them,  than  a  cold-hearted  unfriendly  by- 
stander is  apt  to  think.  But  we  are,  we  con- 
fess it  with  shame,  filed  off  into  little  bands, 
occupied,  too  much,  each  with  its  own  con- 


182  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

cerns,  while  it  would  seem  as  if  we  ought  to 
be  united,  in  one  unbroken  phalanx,  to  con- 
vey the  glad  tidings  to  the  multitudes  yet 
sitting  in  darkness  and  the  shadow  of  death. 
We  are  not  inveighing  against  this  state  of 
things,  or  presuming  against  holy  Provi- 
dence; perhaps  it  will  issue  in  good  that  we 
cannot  see:  we  are  stating  facts.  And,  now, 
in  view  of  these  internal  difficulties,  added 
to  the  outward  obstacles,  in  the  way  of  the 
gospel's  progress,  already  referred  to,  we  ask 
whether  it  be  not  more  than  wonderful,  that 
genuine  Christianity  has  not  been,  before 
this  time,  banished  from  the  world  ?  Could 
it  have  attained  the  standing  and  the  influ- 
ence among  mankind,  which  it  now  holds, 
had  there  not  been  a  divine  power  sustain- 
ing it,  and  urging  it  on  towards  its  destined 
triumph?  You  have  seen  that  the  religion 
itself  is  repulsive  to  fallen  nature;  the  ob- 
stacles to  its  progress,  complicated  and  pro- 
digious, made  up  of  Jewish  prejudice  and 
Gentile  pride  and  polytheism;  you  have 
been  shown  the  inadequacy  of  the  visible 
agencies  and  means  used  in  its  furtherance? 
and  last,  though  not  least,  you  have  marked 
the  hinderances  resulting  from  the  wrong 


LECTURE  VI.  183 

policy,  and  bad  conduct  of  its  own  professed 
friends.  The  proposition,  with  which  we 
set  out  in  this  lecture,  we  here  repeat.  The 
rapid  propagation,  continuance  and  present 
state  of  the  Christian  religion  cannot  be  sa- 
tisfactorily accounted  for,  without  supposing 
that  a  special  divine  patronage  was  and  is 
still  exercised  in  its  support;  and,  if  the  de- 
monstration has  failed,  you  will  impute  the 
failure  to  the  lecturer,  not  to  the  weakness 
of  the  cause. 

If  any  one  should  remind  us  of  Moham- 
medism,  as  a  parallel  case,  we  deny  that  it  is 
a  parallel  case ;  and  we  feel  that  our  holy 
religion  is  dishonoured  by  the  comparison. 
Mohammed's  was  a  very  different  system, 
made  up  of  selections  from  Judaism,  Chris- 
tianity and  Paganism,  an  unseemly  mixture 
adapted  to  men's  depraved  taste;  it  was  got 
up  in  a  dark  age,  and  among  an  ignorant 
people ;  it  was  propagated  after  the  first  few 
years  by  the  sword;  its  founder  was  of  a 
distinguished  family  and  of  great  wealth.; 
its  rewards  were  the  rewards  of  valour;  its 
very  heaven  was  sensual.  Mohammed  ex- 
hibited no  credentials  of  a  divine  mission. 
His  Koran  was  enough;  its  style  and  sub- 


184  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

limity  were  superhuman.  He  talked  about 
his  intimacy  and  interviews  with  angels,  and 
long  and  rapid  journeys  through  unbounded 
space,  which  no  one  witnessed  but  himself. 
"  There  is  one  God,  and  Mohammed  is  his  pro- 
phet," was  the  substance  of  his  creed;  and, 
then,  the  numerous  prayers,  penances  and 
abstinences  to  merit  divine  favour.  Nothing 
new  or  important  for  man  to  know  was  re- 
vealed by  him.  It  was,  first  and  last,  a  war- 
like, politico-ecclesiastical,  self-righteous  and 
despotic  contrivance  of  a  worldly-wise  and 
artful  man.  It  is  a  religion  which  cannot 
subsist  on  the  soil  of  civil  and  religious  free- 
dom, where  Christianity  is  at  home,  in  com- 
pany with  science  and  literature,  freedom 
and  the  arts  of  civilization.  The  religion  of 
Christ  bespeaks  its  holy  origin  by  its  benign 
effects — it  stands  alone  by  the  help  of  God 
and  is  as  imperishable  and  immutable  as 
truth.  Its  aim  is  as  pure  as  benevolence — 
its  scope,  wide  as  the  world — its  victories  are 
those  of  love  and  free  grace — its  ultimate 
triumph  certain;  for  its  author  and  finisher 
is  the  Lord  of  hosts. 


LECTURE  VII.        "  185 


'    LECTURE  VII. 

APPENDIX  TO  THE  PRECEDING  LECTURE: — PREACHING, 
THE  DIVINELY  ORDAINED  METHOD  OF  CARRYING  OUT 
THE  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  GOSPEL.  AND  OF  ACCOMPLISH- 
ING ITS  GLORIOUS  DESIGN. 

In  our  last  lecture,  which,  it  will  be  re- 
collected,  was  on  the  propagation  of  Christi- 
anity, we  had  occasion,  frequently,  to  notice 
the  preaching  of  Christ  and  his  apostles,  as  a 
means  of  introducing  and  spreading  the  gos- 
pel among  mankind.  But  as  our  remarks 
upon  the  subject  then  were  necessarily  very 
brief  and  rather  incidental,  and  as  it  is  a  mat- 
ter of  great  practical  importance  in  the  Chris- 
tian system,  we  will  now  direct  your  atten- 
tion to  it  a  little  more  particularly. 

For  the  origin  of  preaching,  as  a  divine  in- 
stitution, we  must  look  far  back  of  the  com- 
mencement of  the  Christian  dispensation. 
Noah  was  a  preacher;  and  Enoch,  the  seventh 
from  Adam,  the  apostle  Jude  informs  us,  pro- 
phesied, and  of  course  preached,  for  every 
17 


186  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

prophet  was  a  preacher,  to  some  extent.  Mo- 
ses and  all  the  prophets  of  the  Old  Testament, 
with  John  the  precursor  of  Jesus,  were  like- 
wise preachers.  They  were  divinely  com- 
missioned to  publish  God's  messages  of  truth 
to  mankind,  and  call  sinners  to  repentance 
and  obedience;  which  is  the  main  object  and 
aim  of  evangelical  preaching.  In  the  sixty- 
first  chapter  of  Isaiah,  we  have  a  prophetical, 
and  most  graphic  description  of  the  charac- 
ter of  the  Redeemer,  as  a  preacher  of  right- 
eousness and  grace :  "  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord 
God  is  upon  me;  because  the  Lord  hath 
anointed  me  to  preach  good  tidings  unto  the 
meek;  he  hath  sent  me  to  bind  up  the  broken 
hearted;  to  proclaim  liberty  to  the  captives, 
and  the  opening  of  the  prison  to  them  that 
are  bound:  to  proclaim  the  acceptable  year 
of  the  Lord,  and  the  day  of  vengeance  of  our 
God;  to  comfort  all  that  mourn;  to  appoint 
unto  them  that  mourn  in  Zion,  to  give  unto 
them  beauty  for  ashes,  the  oil  of  joy  for  mourn- 
ing, the  garment  of  praise  for  the  spirit  of 
heaviness,  that  they  might  be  called  trees  of 
righteousness,  the  planting  of  the  Lord,  that 
he  might  be  glorified. "  In  the  fourth  chapter 
of  the  Evangelist  Luke,  we  find  that  the  Sa- 
viour took  this  passage  as  the  text  of  a  ser- 


LECTURE  VII.  187 

mon  which  he  delivered  in  the  synagogue  at 
Nazareth,  and  commenced  his  discourse,  by 
remarking,  "This  day  is  this  scripture  ful- 
filled in  your  ears." 

Indeed,  preaching,  in  one  form  or  another, 
seems  to  have  been  the  chosen  and  principal 
means  of  instructing  mankind,  and  of  bring- 
ing them  to  a  saving  knowledge  of  religious 
truth  ever  since  the  apostacy  of  our  race ;  and 
that  it  will  continue  to  be  so,  till  the  designs 
of  redeeming  love  shall  be  fully  accomplished, 
we  cannot  doubt.  We  will  arrange  our  re- 
marks on  the  subject,  under  the  following 
heads,  viz. 

I.  The  wisdom  of  the  institution;  or,  its 
adaptedness  to  the  character  and  circum- 
stances of  man. 

II.  The  nature  of  a  call  to  the  work,  and 
the  mode  of  induction  into  office. 

III.  The  matter  and  the  manner  of  preach- 
ing, its  utility  and  economy  as  a  mode  of  pub- 
lic instruction. 

IV.  The  obligations  of  Christians  to  main- 
tain the  preaching  of  the  gospel,  at  home  and 
abroad,  as  extensively  as  possible. 

I.  The  wisdom  of  the  institution  appears 
in  its  adaptedness  to  the  nature,  necessities 


188  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

and  circumstances  of  man;  just  as  the  same 
divine  attribute  is  displayed  in  creation  and 
providence.  This  material  world  was  evi- 
dently fitted  up  and  furnished,  mainly,  for 
such  a  being  as  man.  Every  thing  in  it  is 
adapted  to  our  physical  character  and  wants. 
Inferior  animals  are  not  forgotten,  indeed ; 
but  they  are  subjected  to  our  control;  and  we 
may  use  them  for  our  benefit,  within  certain 
obvious  limits  of  reason  and  humanity.  The 
objects  with  which  we  are  surrounded,  all 
bear  some  relation  to  us,  and  are  calculated, 
if  rightly  used,  to  promote  our  comfort. 
Thus  light  is  adapted  to  the  eye,  music  to  the 
ear,  the  fragrance  of  the  rose  to  the  sense  of 
smell,  the  products  of  the  field  and  the  ocean 
are  suited  to  our  appetites  and  wants,  and 
the  healing  virtues  of  the  materia  medica  are 
fitted  to  remove  the  diseases  that  assail  our 
bodies.  So  in  providence,  there  is  an  admi- 
rable adjustment  of  the  divine  dispensations 
to  our  ultimate  good,  rather  than  to  our  im- 
mediate gratification.  Unbroken  prosperity 
would  foster  our  pride,  and  make  us  unmind- 
ful of  our  dependence;  unmixed  and  long- 
continued  adversity  would  break  down  our 
spirits  and  discourage  our  efforts,  and  thus 


LECTURE  VII.  189 

render  us  alike  wretched  and  useless.    A  min- 
gled cup  is  therefore  put  into  our  hands,  with 
enough  of  the  bitter  to  keep  us  humble  and 
prayerful,  and  a  sufficiency  of  the  sweet  to 
sustain  hope  and  stimulate  to  action.    So,  also, 
it  is  in  the  communications  which  God  has 
made  to  us  in  the  Bible.      Here  our  moral 
wants  are  consulted  and  amply  supplied.    Our 
origin  and  destiny,  our  fall  and  recovery,  the 
fountain  of  bliss  and  the  way  to  reach  it;  sin 
with  its  wages,  and  holiness  with  its  immortal 
rewards,  are  clearly  revealed.     Every  want 
is  met,  and  every  reasonable  desire  is  gratified. 
Weakness,  unworthiness,  ignorance,  and  guilt, 
poverty  and  wretchedness,  are  all  regarded 
in  the  provisions  of  grace.     The  word  of 
invitation  is  applicable  to  all,  without  restric- 
tion to  time,  place  or  nation:  "Ho,  every  one 
that  thirsteth,  come  ye  to  the  waters,  and  he 
that  hath  no  money;  come  ye,  buy,  and  eat: 
yea,  come,  buy  wine  and  milk  without  money 
and  without  price."—"  Whosoever  will,  let 
him  take  of  the  water  of  life  freely." 

Analogous  to  all  this,  is  the  appointment 
of  the  sacred  ministry,  or  the  divine  ordi- 
nance of  preaching.      The  grand  design  of 
this  institution  is,  to  carjy  home  revealed 
17* 


190  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

truth  to  the  bosom  and  business  of  mankind  j 
to  reach  the  heart  through  the  ear.  It  is  hap- 
pily adapted  to  our  moral  constitution  and 
religious  susceptibilities.  The  word  of  pro- 
mise, in  reference  to  it,  is,  "Hear,  and  your 
soul  shall  live."  In  keeping  with  this  pro- 
mise, is  an  old  adage,  ascribed  to  one  of  the 
sages  of  antiquity,  "That  wisdom  takes  hold 
of  a  young  man  by  the  ears."  There  is  good 
sense  in  the  maxim;  and  in  its  spirit,  it  may. 
be  applied  to  persons  at  all  periods  of  life. 
We  get  most  of  our  ideas  through  the  eye  and 
the  ear.  And  though  we  cannot  say  that 
more  people  can  hear  than  can  see,  yet  we 
know,  that  many  who  can  see,  cannot  read. 
This  has  always  been  the  case;  and  it  will  be 
so,  for  a  long  time  to  come,  notwithstanding 
our  modern  and  increasing  facilities,  for  ob- 
taining a  common  education.  Besides,  peo- 
ple are,  generally,  more  disposed  to  hear  than 
to  read.  The  great  majority  of  mankind  are 
obliged  to  earn  their  bread  by  active  manual 
labour,  and  cannot  bear  the  expense  of  many 
books ;  and  if  they  could,  the  style  in  which 
books  are,  for  the  most  part  written,  makes 
it  difficult  for  plain  people,  unused  to  close 
thinking,  to  comprehend  the  meaning,  and 


LECTURE  VII.  191 

feel  the  impression  of  the  truths  so  taught. 
Active  laborious  employments  bring  on  fa- 
tigue, and  dispose  men  to  drowsiness  and  re- 
pose, when  they  sit  down  to  read.  Even 
pious  persons,  with  good  sense  and  serious 
intentions,  find  it  no  easy  matter  to  keep  their 
minds  sufficiently  awake  to  read  even  the 
Bible,  the  most  interesting  book  in  the  world, 
with  interest  and  profit,  when  alone  and  away 
from  social  influences  and  exciting  causes. 
Prayer  and  awakening  considerations  of  the 
momentous  import  of  its  truths,  of  its  divine 
authority  and  high  claims,  are  necessary  to  a 
profitable,  private  perusal  of  this  blessed  vo- 
lume. The  duty  of  searching  the  Scriptures, 
every  one  for  himself,  is  plain,  and  positively 
enjoined  upon  us;  yet  it  is  attended  with  cer- 
tain difficulties,  arising  out  of  our  dulness? 
and  ordinary  habits  of  life,  which  we  do  not 
have  to  encounter,  at  least  not  in  an  equal 
degree,  in  the  solemn  assembly  where  we 
meet,  with  our  families  and  neighbours,  to 
hear  the  word  of  God  read  and  preached. 
Here  the  whole  scene  is  lively  and  awaken- 
ing. Our  social  feelings  and  sympathies  are 
stirred  up.  Mind  acts  upon  mind.  We  see 
our  teachers,  and  hear  from  living  lips  the 


192  EVIDENCES  OP  CHRISTIANITY. 

lively  oracles.  The  public  reading  of  the 
word  with  due  solemnity,  vivacity,  and  em- 
phasis, serves  as  a  comment  upon  it.  The 
aim  of  the  preacher  in  his  sermon  is,  or  ought 
to  be,  to  bring  some  one  truth  of  the  gospel 
in  each  discourse,  fairly  into  contact  with 
the  minds  and  consciences  of  his  audience. 
His  text  is  from  the  Bible;  and  his  own  learn- 
ing, experience  and  observation  are  taxed, 
for  illustration  and  argument  to  enforce  its 
doctrine  upon  the  understanding  and  the 
heart.  The  earnestness  and  affectiun,  that 
usually  attend  these  exercises,  impart  an  in- 
terest to  truth,  which  has  a  powerful  tendency 
to  awaken  attention,  and  dispose  the  heart  to 
receive  the  divine  message  in  love.  It  is  true, 
and  must  not  be  forgotten,  that  no  saving  re- 
sult is  to  be  expected,  without  the  Spirit's  in- 
fluence. This  is  expressed,  or  implied  in  the 
prayers  and  praises,  that  are  offered  in  con- 
nection with  preaching,  and  which  contribute 
to  its  effect,  by  quieting  the  mind,  and  ren- 
dering it  docile  and  submissive  to  the  de- 
clared will  of  God.  You  see,  then,  the  wis- 
dom and  condescension  of  the  Most  High,  in 
adapting  his  institutions  to  the  moral  consti- 
tution and  ordinary  circumstances  of  our  race. 


LECTURE  VII.  ly«J 

The  revealed  truths  of  the  gospel  are  admi- 
rably suited  to  meet  our  wants,  and  the  me- 
thod of  bringing  these  truths  home  to  our 
bosoms,  by  the  ministry  of  reconciliation,  is 
equally  well  adapted  to  our  social  nature,  and 
our  capability  of  useful  impressions,  from  va- 
rious combined  influences.  All  our  powers 
of  attention  are  roused,  our  affections  inte- 
rested, and  our  perceptions  aided  by  the  truth- 
ful statements  and  earnest,  urgent  appeals  of 
the  living  preacher.  It  suits  our  frail  nature 
vastly  better  to  receive  the  divine  messages 
through  lips  of  clay,  than  by  the  voice  of  an 
angel  from  heaven.  In  this  way  the  great 
God  comes  down  to  our  weakness,  making 
known  to  us,  in  our  own  language,  and  by 
one  of  our  fellows  and  equals  by  nature, 
the  most  august  truths,  and  cheering  assu- 
rances of  grace  and  acceptance  through  the 
Mediator.  Multitudes  of  mankind  can  hear 
that  cannot  read ;  and  many  that  can  read 
prefer  to  hear,  on  account  of  the  social  attrac- 
tions connected  with  public  teaching.  It  suits 
the  capacity  and  habits  of  the  great  mass  of 
the  people  better  than  solitary  study.  They 
can  learn  more  in  a  given  time  in  this  way. 
than  in  any  other.   Hence,  God  in  conformity 


194  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

with  one  of  the  great  principles  of  his  go- 
vernment, that  of  adapting  the  means  to  the 
end,  has  selected  and  distinguished  this  mode 
of  religious  instruction,  by  his  special  bless- 
ing. Judging  from  what  we  read  in  Scrip- 
ture and  church  history,  we  would  say  that 
more  souls  have  been  brought  to  repentance 
and  a  saving  knowledge  of  the  gospel  by 
preaching,  than  by  all  other  means  together; 
not  by  any  inherent  efficacy  which  it  possesses, 
but  by  divine  appointment  and  favour.  As  a 
general  rule,  "Faith  comethby  hearing,  and 
hearing  by  the  word  of  God."  We  proceed 
now  to  consider  briefly, — 

II.  The  nature  of  a  call  to  the  prophetical 
or  preaching  work;  and  the  mode  of  induc- 
tion into  the  office.  On  this  article,  which 
comprises  two  ideas,  we  shall  not  detain  you 
long,  for  we  have  no  relish  for  controversy. 
We  begin  by  remarking  that  God  is  a  sove- 
reign, and  chooses  the  instruments  and  means 
of  accomplishing  his  purposes,  according  to 
the  counsel  of  his  own  will.  Thus  he  called 
Cyrus,  a  heathen  prince,  to  the  deliverance  of 
his  people,  Israel,  from  the  Babylonish  cap- 
tivity. And  in  calling  men  to  the  work  of 
the  ministry,  the  same  awful  attribute  appears. 


LECTURE  VII.  195 

He  does  not  seem  to  have  regarded  the  pos- 
session of  genuine  personal  piety  in  all  cases, 
as  an  indispensable  pre-requisite.    Some  men 
have  been  employed  by  him  in  building  up 
his  kingdom  in  the  world,  who  do  not  appear 
to  have  been  the  subjects  of  his  saving  grace. 
We  have  in  view  the  cases  of  Balaam  and  Ju- 
das, both  of  whom ,  so  far  as  we  can  judge,  were 
bad  men,  and  were  actuated  by  unholy  mo- 
tives, first  and  last.     Jonah  is  a  doubtful  case : 
and  Jeremiah,  when  called  very  explicitly, 
came  up  to  the  work  reluctantly,  alleging  his 
youth  and  unfitness;  and  conscious,  probably, 
of  the  want  of  that  personal  courage,  which 
seemed  to  him  necessary,  in  so  bold  and  pe- 
rilous an  undertaking,  in  a  degenerate  age 
he  would  have  declined  the  call.     The  rea- 
sons of  the  divine  conduct  in  such  cases,  are 
not  made  known  to  us,  and  it  were  idle,  if  not 
presumptuous,  in  us,  to  attempt  to  guess  them 
out.      To  our  limited  vision,  God's  way  is 
often  in  the  dark  ;  but  it  is  always  right,  and 
leads  to  a  wise  and  good  end.     The  call  was 
not,  in  all  instances,  the  same  in  form,  though 
doubtless  the  same  in  substance.    It  was  made 
clear  to  the  person  called.      Ablution  with 
water,  as  a  sign  of  purity,  and  anointing  with 


196  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

oil,  as  a  token  of  consecration,  with  a  commis- 
sion and  miraculous  powers,  were  usually  con- 
nected with  the  call  under  the  old  economy. 
Under  the  gospel  dispensation  the  washing 
and  anointing  were  laid  aside,  and  imposition 
of  hands  by  the  proper  authority,  substituted 
as  a  symbol  of  official  designation.  Of  what 
constitutes  a  call  to  the  ministry  of  the  word, 
since  the  cessation  of  miracdes,  we  cannot 
speak  definitely,  because  the  Scripture  is  not 
explicit  on  the  subject.  We  believe  there  is 
a  providential  call,  but  whether  there  be  any 
thing  special  and  peculiar  in  it,  we  are  not 
prepared  to  say.  We  suppose  it  is  to  be  de- 
termined, like  other  questions  of  duty,  by  a 
careful  reference  to  the  indications  of  the  di- 
vine will, — our  natural,  acquired,  and  gra- 
cious qualifications,  and  strict  scrutiny  of  the 
motives  that  lead  us  to  seek  the  office,  with 
earnest  prayer  for  the  divine  direction.  A 
desire  to  do  good  is  not  decisive;  for  that  is 
the  common  feeling  of  all  good  men  ;  and  yet 
it  is  obviously  not  the  will  of  God  that  every 
good  man  should  be  set  apart  to  the  work  of 
the  ministry.  Some  probably  mistake  their 
calling,  in  assuming  the  office ;  and  others, 
perhaps,  (not  many  we  trust)  rush  into  it 


LECTURE  Til.  197 

from  motives  of  ambition,  comfort,  or  conve- 
nience. Those  who  do  so,  cannot  expect  to  be 
either  useful  or  happy.  The  duty  of  the 
church  plainly  is  to  guard,  with  all  fidelity 
and  vigilance,  against  the  intrusion  into  her 
ministry,  of  men  destitute  of  the  proper  quali- 
fications. She  may  not  admit  to  her  sacred 
ministrations,  ignorant  men  or  novices,  what- 
ever may  be  their  pious  pretensions ;  nor  god- 
less or  immoral  men,  or  those  who  are  unsound 
in  the  faith  of  the  gospel,  whatever  may  be 
their  attainments  in  literature,  or  their  stand- 
ing in  general  society.  She  knows  that  those 
who  love  the  Saviour  and  his  truth  will  be 
most  likely  to  edify  her  members,  promote 
her  union,  and  extend  her  borders;  self-pre- 
gervation  and  fidelity  to  her  Lord  therefore, 
require  her  to  guard  her  sanctuaries,  and  look 
well  to  those  who  are  to  guide  her  counsels 
and  minister  in  her  holy  ordinances.  She 
cannot,  indeed,  judge  the  heart,  or  detect  hy- 
pocrisy; but  she  can  judge  of  the  fruits  of 
righteousness,  the  evidences  of  a  regenerate 
heart;  and  she  has  a  right  to  insist  on  repu- 
table membership,  and  a  good  report  from 
them  that  are  without,  and  prudence,  and 
aptness  to  teach,  and  such  training  in  litera- 
18 


198  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

ture,  science,  and  theology,  as  the  Scriptures 
warrant,  together  with  the  unqualified  adop- 
tion of  her  creed,  before  she  gives  her  sanc- 
tion to  the  ordination  of  any  man.  When 
she  has  attended  faithfully  to  these  things, 
she  has  done  about  all  that  is  expected  of 
her,  save  to  sustain  the  true-hearted  labourers 
in  the  Lord's  vineyard,  and  expel  from  her 
communion  and  service,  such  as  subsequently 
act  unworthy  of  their  high  vocation. 

In  regard  to  the  mode  of  setting  apart,  or 
inducting  ministers  into  office,  the  subject  is 
frequently  noticed  in  the  New  Testament; 
and  the  safest  way  is,  to  take  it  just  as  we 
find  it  there:  for  as  to  any  changes,  or  modifi- 
cations which  may  have  been  introduced  after 
the  apostles  ceased  to  direct  the  affairs  of  the 
church,  although  they  might  not  affect  the 
substance  of  the  institution,  yet  we  must  not 
regard  them  as  of  any  authority,  but  only  as 
matters  of  taste  or  expediency.  Some  eight 
or  ten  instances  of  ordination  are  given  in 
the  New  Testament.  Thus,  Mark  iii.  14,  it- 
is  said  that,  "Christ  ordained  the  twelve, 
that  they  should  be  with  him ; ''  i.  e.,  as  learners 
under  his  eye  and  special  tuition,  preparatory 
to  their  receiving  the  general  commission, 


LECTURE  VII.  199 

under  which  all  gospel  ministers  profess  to 
act.     On  the  defection  of  Judas,  as  we  read, 
Acts  i.  21,  22,  the  other  apostles  ordained,  or 
nominated  Matthias  to  take  his  place ;  we  say 
nominated,  for  the  choice  between  him  and 
Joseph  Barsabas,  was  made  by  lot,  with  a  so- 
lemn appeal  to  God.      In  Acts  xiv.  23,  &c, 
we  find  that  Paul  and  Barnabas  ordained  el- 
ders in  certain  cities  which  they  visited  in  one 
of  their  missionary  tours.     1st  Timothy  ii.  7, 
Paul  tells  us,  that  he  was  ordained  or  appointed 
or  made  an  apostle;  i.  e.,  evidently  by  Christ. 
Timothy  and  Titus  are  instructed  in  their 
duty,  in  regard  to  ordination.      The  former 
is  said  to  have  been  set  apart,  by  a  Presbytery 
in  one  place,  with  the  laying  on  of  hands,  and 
in  another  place,  with  the  imposition  of  Paul's 
hand;  which  are  reconcilable,  by  supposing 
that  Paul  took  part  in  the  service,  or  acted 
as  Moderator  or  President  of  the  Presbytery, 
or  council  of  elders,  on  the  occasion.      The 
latter,  (Titus)  is  directed  to  ordain  elders  in 
the  churches  of  Crete;  or,  as  the  passage  may 
be  interpreted,  to  see  that  the  duty  was  at- 
tended to  while  he  remained  in  that  island 
as  an  evangelist.      Timothy  is  charged  not 
to  lay  hands  suddenly  on  any  man.    From  all 


200  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

these  instances,  together,  for  we  have  not 
time  to  remark  upon  them  separately;  we  may 
safely  conclude,  that  the  apostles  appointed, 
or  ordained  men  to  the  work  of  the  ministry, 
with  serious  reference  to  their  fitness  for  the 
office,  commending  them  to  God  for  his  bless- 
ing, and  using  the  symbolical  act  of  imposing 
hands  upon  them  as  a  sign  or  public  testimony, 
that  they  were  invested  with  ministerial  au- 
thority, and  held  responsible  for  the  faithful 
discharge  of  its  duties. 

The  precise  form  of  ordination  is  not  es- 
sential to  its  validity;  if  it  were,  we  should 
find  it  definitely  prescribed  in  the  sacred  Scrip- 
ture, our  only  rule  of  faith  and  practice.  Mi- 
nisters, it  should  be  remembered,  are  given, 
constituted  and  trained  for  the  service  of  the 
church, — not  the  church  for  her  ministers' 
convenience,  which  would  be  absurd  and  aside 
from  the  analogy  of  all  other  social  arrange- 
ments. It  is  the  church,  under  her  glorious 
Head  and  King,  that  virtually  selects  and 
commissions  her  servants,  whether  it  be  by 
the  agency  of  one  authorized  minister,  or  of 
several  acting  conjointly,  and  in  her  behalf. 
She  is  richly  endowed  by  her  gracious  Lord 
and  Saviour.     All  things  are  hers;  whether 


LECTURE  VII.  201 

Paul  or  Apollos,  or  Cephas.  When  the  Re- 
deemer "ascended  up  on  high,  he  led  capti- 
vity captive,  and  gave  gifts  unto  men;  some 
apostles,  some  prophets,  and  some  evange- 
lists, and  some  pastors  and  teachers;  for  the 
perfecting  of  the  saints,  for  the  work  of  the 
ministry,  for  the  edifying  of  the  body  of  Christ : 
till  we  all  come  in  the  unity  of  the  faith,  and 
of  the  knowledge  of  the  Son  of  God,  unto  a 
perfect  man,  unto  the  measure  of  the  stature 
of  the  fulness  of  Christ."  Eph.  iv.  11—13. 
These  ascension  gifts,  you  learn  from  this 
Scripture,  are  to  be  continued,  till  the  work 
of  redemption  shall  be  completed :  so  that  if 
by  any  catastrophe,  not  likely  indeed  to  oc- 
cur, every  minister  on  earth  should  be  cut  off, 
others  would  be  furnished  from  the  same 
source;  and  the  church  would  undoubtedly 
have  an  important  agency  in  providing  them. 
The  apostolic  succession  does  not,  therefore, 
appear  to  be  a  matter  of  so  great  moment  as 
some  seem  to  think.  For  ourselves,  we  at- 
tach very  little  importance  to  it.  It  is  a  long 
chain,  extending  through  ages  of  horrible 
corruption;  and  nothing  short  of  a  perpetual 
miracle  could  preserve  it  unbroken  and  pure. 
We  have  no  mind  to  hold  on  to  it.  Our  de- 
18* 


202  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

pendence  is  on  the  fulness  of  Christ,  and  the 
word  of  assurance,  that  no  weapon  formed 
against  Zion  shall  prosper.  Let  us  now  at- 
tend a  little  to  the  next  head: 

III.  Matter,  and  the  manner  of  preaching 
— its  utility  and  economy,  as  a  method  of  pub- 
lic instruction.     It  is  proper  to  remark  here, 
that  according  to  the  Scriptures,  preaching  is 
assigned  the  first  place  in  the  scale  of  minis- 
terial duties.     All  other  departments  of  ad- 
ministration are  subordinate  and  subsidiary  to 
this.    The  training  and  ordination  of  ministers 
are  preparatory,  and  in  order  to  preaching: 
and  the  exercise  of  discipline  and  government, 
and  the  dispensing  of  the  sacraments  become 
duties,  in  consequence  of  the  results  of  preach- 
ing.     Baptism  is  administered  but  once  to 
the  same  individual;  and  the  Lord's  Supper, 
at  suitable  intervals;  whereas,  preaching,  or 
preparing  to  preach,  is  the  minister's  daily 
business.     This,  indeed,  is  the  grand  instru- 
mentality, chosen  and  sanctified  of  God,  for 
bringing  men  to  repentance  and  the  faith  of 
the  gospel.     The  voice  that  cried  as  a  herald, 
in  the  wilderness  of  Jordan,  prepared  the  way 
of  the  Lord,  first  by  preaching,  and  then  by 
administering  the  baptism  of  repentance,  and 


LECTURE  VII.  203 

telling  the  multitudes  of  Him  who  was  soon 
coming  to  baptize  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
with  fire.  The  Saviour  commenced  his  pub- 
lic ministry  by  proclaiming  that  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  was  at  hand.  The  seventy  disciples 
that  he  sent  out  in  pairs,  went  forth  preach- 
ing the  same  doctrine,  wherever  they  could 
obtain  a  hearing.  The  first  words  in  the  great 
commission  are,  "Go,  preach  the  gospel  to 
every  creature."  Paul  preached  in  the  syna- 
gogue at  Damascus,  immediately  after  his 
conversion;  and  so  of  the  rest.  Preaching 
was  their  main  employment;  while  other 
duties  were  attended  to  as  occasion  offered. 
And  as  preaching  is  the  chief  business  of 
God's  ministers,  so  he  has  furnished  them 
with  materials  for  the  work,  in  his  blessed 
Bible.  The  injunction  is,  "Preach  the  word," 
that  is,  the  gospel,  comprising  all  the  facts, 
doctrines,  precepts,  and  promises  of  revealed 
religion;  Christ  Jesus  in  his  Mediatorship, 
and  atoning  sacrifice  being  the  central  glory 
of  the  whole.  "  We  preach  Christ  crucified," 
says  Paul, "  to  the  Jews  a  stumblingblock,  and 
to  the  Greeks,  foolishness;  but  to  them  that 
are  called,  the  power  of  God,  and  the  wisdom 
of  God."     "I  am  not  ashamed  of  the  gospel 


204  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

of  Christ,"  says  he  to  the  Romans;  "for  it  is 
the  power  of  God  unto  salvation,  to  every 
one  that  believeth."  In  his  farewell  address 
to  the  elders  of  Ephesus,  he  says:  "  I  kept 
Lack  nothing  that  was  profitable  unto  you: 
but  have  taught  you  publicly,  and  from  house 
to  house,  testifying  repentance  towards  God, 
and  faith  towards  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ: — 
neither  count  I  my  life  dear,  so  that  I  may 
finish  my  course  with  joy,  and  the  ministry 
which  I  have  received  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  to 
testify  the  gospel  of  the  grace  of  God."  "  If 
any  man  speak,"  says  Peter,  "let  him  speak 
as  the  oracles  of  God,  that  God,  in  all  things, 
may  be  glorified."  And,  for  himself,  in  view 
of  his  final  account,  he  adds,  2  Pet.  i.  12,  &c, 
"I  will  not  be  negligent  to  put  you  always 
in  remembrance  of  these  things,  though  ye 
know  them,  and  be  established  in  the  present 
truth :  yea,  I  think  it  meet  as  long  as  I  am 
in  this  tabernacle  to  stir  you  up,  by  putting 
you  in  remembrance;  knowing  that,  shortly, 
I  must  put  off  this  my  tabernacle.  Moreover, 
I  will  endeavour  that  ye  may  be  able,  after 
my  decease,  to  have  these  things  always  in 
remembrance;  for  we  have  not  followed  cun- 
ningly devised  fables,  when  we  made  known 


LECTURE  VII.  2U5 

unto  you  the  power  and  coming  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ."     "That  which  we  have  seen 
and   heard,"  says  John,  "declare  we  unto 
you :"  1  John  i.  3.    But  why  should  we  argue 
this  point?      Nothing  is  plainer,  or  more 
easily  deducible  from  scripture  and  apostolic 
example,  than  that  flie  sacred  volume  con- 
tains the  whole  subject-matter  of  evangelical 
preaching.     It  is  rich,  pure,  and  various  in 
its  contents  and  bearings.     It  is  our  store- 
house from  which,  as  stewards  in  the  house 
of  God,  we  are  to  bring  forth  things  new  and 
old:   new,  in  the  arrangement  and  form  of 
presentation j  but  old,  as  the  divine  purpose 
to  save  sinners,  in  essence  and  import.     It 
is  our  text-book — our  only  text-book,  from 
which  all  our  themes,  arguments  and  motives 
are  to  be  drawn.     No  other  work,  however 
excellent  its  matter,  or  distinguished  its  au- 
thor, is  to  be,  even  by  implication,  brought 
on   the   same    platform   with   God's    book. 
Whether  it  be  Calvin  or  Luther,  Cranmer  or 
Knox,  Wesley  or  Bunyan,  it  matters  not: 
the  writings  are  uninspired ;  and,  therefore, 
fallible,  and  without  authority  to  bind  the 
conscience.     Such  writings  may  be  used  as 
helps  and  illustrations,  but  not  as  the  ground- 


206  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

work  of  our  public  preaching.  No:  nor  are 
the  creeds,  or  confessions  of  the  churches,  to 
be  allowed  to  compete  with  the  Bible,  in 
furnishing  the  matter  of  preaching.  They 
ought,  indeed,  to  be  explained,  and  used  as 
exponents  of  the  sense  in  which  scripture  is 
understood,  by  the  several  denominations 
that  have  adapted  them.  But  this  may  be 
done  without  putting  them,  even  in  appear- 
ance and  temporarily,  in  the  place  of  the  in- 
spired oracles.  It  would  not  do  to  say,  that 
these  books  teach  the  doctrines  of  the  Bible, 
for  the  same  may  be  said  of  many  other  books. 
It  is  for  the  pre-eminence — the  supremacy  of 
the  sacred  scriptures  that  we  contend.  If 
the  Bible  be  what  it  purports  to  be,  the  word 
of  God — the  only  infallible  rule  of  religious 
faith  and  practice,  let  not  its  prerogative  be 
invaded.  It  acknowledges  no  compeers;  but 
stands  alone,  bearing  the  distinguished  im- 
press of  its  divine  origin  and  authority. 
And  why  should  it  be  degraded  by  being 
bound  up  in  close  contact  with  apocryphal 
writings?  All  such  associations  make  against 
its  rightful  claims,  in  public  estimation.  Nor 
do  we  need  such  associates  with  it  on  the 
score  of  variety.     The  Bible  is,  in  itself,  a 


LECTURE  VII.  207 

world  of  truth — a  mine,  deep,  and  wide,  and 
inexhaustible;  nor  can  any  preacher  exhaust 
one  of  its  smallest  veins  in  the  longest  life- 
time. It  is  ample  and  complete,  containing 
the  matter — and  all  the  matter  that  is  to  be 
preached.  We  are  not  to  give  our  own  spe- 
culations for  gospel  truth ;  nor  is  it  safe  to 
make  sermons  out  of  our  inferences  from  its 
doctrines.  These  will  be  more  or  less  legiti- 
mate, according  as  the  truth  is  clearly,  or 
dimly  discerned;  and  they  are  very  apt  to  be 
used  for  supporting  a  preconceived  system. 
Long  texts  and  short  sermons  are  better, 
other  things  being  equal,  than  short  texts  and 
long  sermons.  In  the  former  case,  we  are 
sure  of  having  a  good  amount  of  truth ;  in  the 
latter,  we  sometimes  get  more  of  the  preacher 
than  of  Christ;  whereas,  Christ  should  be 
•-  all  and  in  all.7'  "  We  preach  not  ourselves/' 
says  Paul,  "but  Christ  Jesus,  the  Lord;  and 
ourselves,  your  servants,  for  Jesus'  sake." 
The  truth — gospel  truth,  is  the  instrument 
of  sanctification : — "Sanctify  them  through 
thy  truth;  thy  word  is  truth." 

As  to  the  manner  of  preaching — it  should 
be  plain,  fearless,  affectionate,  and  solemn. 
Plain,  because  the  majority  of  hearers,  every- 


208  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

where,  are  unused  to  elaborate  or  highly  em- 
bellished language.    The  professed  object  is 
to  give  instruction,  which  cannot  be  done  in 
a  style  that  is  above  the  comprehension  of 
the  hearer;  and  the  souls  of  the  illiterate 
are  as  precious  as  those  of  the  learned.     "I 
would  rather,"  says  Paul,  "speak  five  words 
with  my  understanding/'  that  is,  that  can  be 
easily  understood,  "  that,  with  my  voice,  I 
might  teach  others  also,  than  ten  thousand 
words  in  an  unknown  tongue." — 1  Cor.  xiv. 
19.     The  manner  should  be  fearless. — Not 
harsh  and  vindictive,  which  always  disgusts, 
or  provokes,  or  grieves;  and  thus  mars  the 
effect  of  the   truth   declared:   but  without 
"the  fear  of  man  which  bringeth  a  snare;" 
and  without  any  effort  to  smooth  and  soften 
down  the  word  of  the  Lord  to  suit  an  un- 
sanctified   taste.     Words   of   awful   import 
used  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  may  be  safely  ut- 
tered by  the  preacher,  on  suitable  occasions, 
if,  in  the  manner  of  utterance,  he  evince  a 
just  sense  of  their  fearful  meaning.     There 
are  a  few  denunciatory  terms,  occasionally 
found  in  scripture,  which  should  be  but  sel- 
dom published  from  the  pulpit,  and  then  with 
profound  reverence  and  awe.    Yet  courage 


LECTURE  VII.  209 

and  fearlessness  are  necessary  to  a  faithful 
discharge  of  ministerial  duty.  Paul  asked 
the  prayers  of  Christians  that  he  might 
speak  boldly  as  he  ought  to  speak.  He 
preached  righteousness,  temperance,  and  a 
judgment  to  come,  before  Felix,  and  that 
profligate  .governor  trembled.  Peter  and 
John,  when  ordered  by  the  Jewish  sanhe- 
drim, to  desist  from  preaching,  refused  to 
obey  the  injunction,  at  the  risk  of  their  lives. 
^Fear  not  them  that  kill  the  body/7  said 
Christ,  "but  after  that,  have  nothing  more 
that  they  can  do;  but  rather  fear  him,  who 
hath  power  to  destroy  both  soul  and  bod}r 
in  hell." 

Affectionate. — This  is  a  quality  of  preach- 
ing which  cannot  be  acquired  by  art,  though 
it  is  sometimes  affected;  and  then  it  is  hypo- 
critical and  worse  than  useless.  To  preach 
the  gospel  affectionately,  we  must  speak 
under  the  influence  of  the  Redeemer's  love. 
We  must  feel,  in  a  measure,  as  he  felt,  when 
he  mingled  his  tears  with  those  of  Martha 
and  Mary  at  the  grave  of  their  brother; 
when  he  had  compassion  on  the  multitude, 
and  wept  over  Jerusalem.  A  heart  steeped 
in  the  love  of  God,  and  agonizing  for  the 
19 


210  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

salvation  of  souls,  is  the  only  source  of  ge- 
nuine religious  affection.  It  does  not  con- 
sist in  the  free  use  of  tender  terms,  and 
strong  professions,  but  rather  in  labours  of 
love — faithful,  untiring  efforts  to  save  men 
from  sin  and  ruin.  When  evinced  in  this 
way,  it  is  seldom  without  effect,  by  a  divine 
blessing.  It  allays  prejudice,  moves  the 
heart,  and  draws  the  sympathies  into  the 
channels  of  truth.  In  a  word,  next  to  the 
truth  itself,  impressed  on  the  conscience  1  y 
the  Holy  Spirit,  it  is  the  chief  agent  in  win- 
ning souls  to  Christ;  for  it  is  but  the  reac- 
tion of  his  love,  which  is  stronger  than 
death.  And,  here,  if  time  permitted,  we 
might  inquire  a  little  about  the  reading  of 
sermons,  whether  it  be  the  most  affectionate ' 
and  effective  manner.  It  has  its  obvious  ad- 
vantages; but,  then,  whether  these  are  suf- 
cient  to  overcome  the  equally  obvious  dis- 
advantages, connected  with  it,  is  doubtful. 
On  some  subjects,  and  on  certain  occasions, 
no  doubt,  reading  is  preferable ;  but  in  the 
ordinary  preaching  of  the  word  to  a  promis- 
cuous audience,  a  free,  earnest,  animated  de- 
livery seems  most  likely  to  produce  effect. 
The  pleader,  at  the  bar,  does  not,  ordinarily. 


LECTURE  VII.  211 

read  his  plea  to  the  court  and  jury,  though 
he  may  have  both  studied  and  written:  why? 
Because  he  deems  this  method  less  convinc- 
ing, and  less  likely  to  secure  success,  than  the 
other.  Apostolic  and  primitive  example  is, 
also,  as  it  seems  to  us,  against  the  practice 
of  reading.  It  is  true,  the  first  preachers  of 
the  gospel  were  inspired,  and  had  but  little 
opportunity  for  study  and  writing.  Upon  a 
full  view  of  the  subject,  therefore,  it  will, 
probably,  be  found  that  no  general  rule  can 
be  laid  down,  on  this  point,  which  it  would 
be  wise  to  follow,  in  all  circumstances. 
Study,  writing  and  prayer  are  indispensable; 
but  the  mode  of  delivery  may  be  left  to  the 
discretion  of  the  preacher,  in  view  of  his 
own  talents  and  the  character  of  his  hearers. 
There  is  a  diversity  of  gifts;  let  every  man 
try  to  know  himself,  and  take  the  method  by 
which  he  can  do  the  most  good.  But  let  it 
never  be  forgotten,  that  the  design  of  the 
ministry  is,  to  convince  men  that  the  gospel 
is  true,  and  to  persuade  them  to  embrace  it. 
Solemnity  of  manner  is  another  quality  of 
preaching  well  worthy  of  consideration.  It 
is  a  serious  business  to  undertake  to  show 
unto  sinful  men  the  way  of  salvation:  rightly 


212  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

to  divide  or  distribute  the  word  of  truth,  so 
that  every  hearer  may  receive  a  portion,  in 
due  season.  To  be  a  savour  of  life  unto  life, 
or  of  death  unto  death,  to  those  who  hear  us, 
is  a  fearful  alternative.  "Who  is  sufficient 
for  these  things?"  The  responsibilities  and 
results  of  the  office  are  solemn  and  momen- 
tous, beyond  expression.  All  levity  of  mind, 
matter,  or  manner,  is  unseemly,  and  sadly  out 
of  place  here.  And  to  this  great  evil,  some 
preachers  are  peculiarly  liable  from  consti- 
tution, temperament,  or  habit.  It  is,  to  some, 
a  besetting  sin,  against  which  they  have  need 
to  watch  unto  prayer.  To  say  of  a  preacher, 
that  he  is  witty,  is  no  praise,  but  a  censure ; 
to  say  that  he  is  ingenious,  or  elegant,  is  not 
much  to  his  credit;  but  to  say  that  he  is 
grave  and  solemn,  is  in  good  keeping  with 
his  appropriate  work.  Cowper,  one  of  Zion's 
favourite  poets,  has  expressed  our  ideas,  on 
this  point,  very  forcibly. 

"He  that  negotiates  between  God  and  man, 
As  God's  ambassador,  the  grand  concerns 
Of  judgment  and  of  mercy,  should  beware 
Of  lightness  in  his  speech.     'Tis  pitiful 
To  court  a  grin,  when  you  should  woo  a  soul; 
To  break  a  jest,  when  pity  would  inspire 


LECTURE  vir.  213 

Pathetic  exhortation;  and  t'  address 

The  skittish  fancy  with  facetious  tales, 

When  sent  with  God's  commission  to  the  heart." 

Of  the  usefulness  of  this  institution,  we 
need  say  but  little.  Its  appointment,  by  the 
only  wise  God,  as  the  principal  means  of 
saving  souls,  is  indubitable  evidence  of  its 
utility  and  fitness.  But  in  addition  to  this, 
see  its  benign  effects,  on  individuals,  fami- 
lies and  states;  effects  blissful,  holy  and  per- 
manent as  Heaven.  "The  pulpit,"  as  our 
poet  again  sings: 

"Must  stand  acknowledged,  while  the  world  shall  stand, 
The  most  important  and  effectual  guard, 
Support,  and  ornament  of  virtue's  cause." 

But  that  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  may 
have  its  full  effect,  it  must  be  made  accessi- 
ble to  people,  in  all  circumstances.  It  is 
characteristic  of  the  true  Messiah,  that  his 
religion  is  preached  to  the  poor.  This  was 
the  case  originally,  and  designed  so  to  be, 
always  and  every  where.  But  in  modern 
times,  particularly  in  large  wealthy  cities, 
there  is  a  lamentable  departure  from  this 
distinctive  principle  in  the  divine  plan.  We 
erect  fine  houses  for  worship,  and  decorate 
them  in  a  style  so  costly,  as  virtually  to  ex- 
19* 


214  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

elude  the  poor..  Some  provision  is  usually 
made  for  them,  it  is  true;  but,  for  the  most 
part,  it  is  regarded  by  them  as  invidious 
or  degrading  and,  therefore,  not  general- 
ly accepted.  Christians  should  look  well 
to  this  evil,  and  spare  no  pains  to  have  it 
corrected.  It  is  not  for  us  to  suggest  the 
ways  and  means;  but  one  of  two  things 
seems  desirable:  either  that  the  seats  in 
God's  house  be  placed,  in  point  of  expense, 
within  the  reach  of  the  poorest;  or  that  free 
houses  be  erected,  and  furnished  with  pas- 
tors, and  be  governed  on  the  received  prin- 
ciples of  the  several  denominations  with 
which  they  are  connected.  Street  or  field 
preaching,  though  well-meant  and  useful  at 
times,  will  not  last  long  in  civilized  society; 
it  gives  too  much  occasion  to  scoffing  and 
riotous  doings.  It  is  painful  to  the  Chris- 
tian heart,  to  think  how  great  a  proportion 
of  the  population  of  large  cities  are  uncon- 
nected with  any  place  of  public  worship; 
mainly  from  the  cause  just  alluded  to.  The 
consequence  is,  that  the  holy  Sabbath  is  lost, 
and  worse  than  lost  to  them;  they  go  in  the 
way  of  temptation ;  some  disturb  the  public 
peace,  and,  as  a  consequence,  the  courts  of 


LECTURE  VII.  215 

police  are  more  crowded  with  business,  on 
Monday  than  on  any  other  day  of  the  week. 
A  hundred  thousand  people,  in  Philadel- 
phia and  its  liberties,  hear  no  gospel  on 
the  Lord's  day.  How  can  its  full  benefits  be 
experienced  in  such  a  state  of  things?  "We 
speak,  as  unto  wise  men;  judge  ye  what  we 
say." 

The  economy  or  cheapness  of  preaching,  as 
a  mode  of  public  instruction,  is  well  worthy 
of  more  consideration  than  we  can  give  it, 
at  present.  It  is  said,  there  are  "twenty 
thousand  preachers  of  the  gospel  in  the 
United  States;  "  we  have  not  the  means,  at 
hand,  of  ascertaining  the  number  accurately. 
But  take  it  at  that;  and  suppose  their  sup- 
port to  be  five  hundred  dollars  apiece,  per 
annum,  (and  it  will  scarcely  average  so 
much ;)  then  you  have  ten  million  a  year  for 
their  maintenance.  Now  compare  this  sum, 
at  your  leisure,  with  the  expense  of  our 
public  and  private  schools,  our  academies 
and  colleges,  and  you  will  be  surprised  at  the 
difference.  And  yet  the  gospel  is  the  cement 
of  society;  and  the  faithful  preaching  of  it 
does  more  for  the  intelligence,  the  good 
order  and  happiness  of  the  community  than 


216  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

all  other  means  of  popular  instruction  toge- 
ther, to  say  nothing  of  its  influence  on  the 
salvation  of  the  soul.  To  have  any  just  con- 
ception of  the  worth  of  preaching,  we  must 
view  it  in  connection  with  the  Sabbath,  the 
Sabbath-School,  public  morals,  and  all  mis- 
sionary, and  other  benevolent  efforts.  It  is 
the  conservator,  the  counsellor  and  advocate 
of  these,  and  of  all  humane  and  philanthro- 
pic institutions  and  designs.  It  operates  be- 
nignly through  so  many  channels,  and  by  so 
many  subordinate  agencies,  that  its  value 
cannot  be  duly  estimated;  and  yet  it  costs 
less  than  the  dressing  of  our  feet.  It  quickens 
and  educates  conscience,  and  conscience  re- 
strains vice  and  prompts  to  good  morals,  and 
good  morals,  Christian  morals,  keep  the  peo- 
pled world  from  turning  into  a  hell.  Yes,  it 
is  cheap  and  efficacious,  incomparably  beyond 
any  scheme  of  public  instruction  that  has 
ever  been  devised.  Education,  without  re- 
ligion, is  no  blessing  to  any  community.  The 
experiment  has  been  tried;  and  the  result  is 
before  the  world,  in  letters  of  blood.  France 
abolished  her  Sabbaths,  closed  her  churches, 
and  silenced  her  religious  teachers,  but  was 
soon  glad  to  re-open  and  recall  them ;  for  she 


LECTURE  VII.  217 

found  that  Atheism  is  a  miserable  substitute 
for  Christianity,  even  when  mixed  up  with  a 
good  deal  of  mummery  and  superstition. 
But  we  must  pass  to  the  last  division  of  our 
present  topic,  viz.: 

IY.  The  obligations  of  Christians  to  sus- 
tain the  preaching  of  the  gospel,  at  home 
and  abroad,  as  extensively  as  possible.  This 
opens  before  us  a  wide  field;  but  we  must 
survey  it  very  cursorily.  Indeed,  argument 
is  scarcely  necessary  here.  Christians  know 
the  law  of  their  Lord's  kingdom,  so  oft  re- 
peated, and  in  various  forms.  "  The  labourer 
is  worthy  of  his  hire;  the  ox  that  treadeth 
out  the  corn  must  not  be  muzzled;  who  goeth 
a  warfare  at  his  own  charges?  They  that 
preach  the  gospel,  must  live  of  the  gospel." 
"  If  we,"  says  Paul,  "have  ministered  to  you 
in  spiritual  things,  is  it  a  great  matter  that 
you  should  minister  to  us  of  your  carnal 
things?  "  Our  object,  therefore,  is  to  stir  up 
your  pure  minds,  by  way  of  remembrance. 
Christians,  your  obligations,  in  this  behalf, 
are  plain  and  pressing.  Your  pastors,  who 
serve  you  in  holy  things,  expect  but  a  mode- 
rate support — a  decent  living;  this  you  gua- 
ranty to  them,  by  covenant,  when  you  call 


218  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

them  into  your  service:  let  them  have  it, 
without  stint  or  grudging,  and  without  de- 
lay, when  due.  Let  them  have  it,  as  a  mat- 
ter of  right,  not  of  favour.  Generally  speak- 
ing, no  men  serve  your  interests  better,  or  at 
a  more  reasonable  rate;  and,  if  any  should 
prove  faithless  and  recreant,  you  know  how 
to  get  rid  of  them.  Your  missionaries,  too, 
are  dependent  on  your  patronage.  You  call 
upon  them  to  bear  the  messages  of  truth  to 
your  brethren  of  mankind,  who  are  suffer- 
ing for  the  bread  of  life.  They  respond. 
Here  we  are;  send  us,  but  give  us  the  bread 
that  perisheth.  They  make  sacrifices,  and 
encounter  hardships,  that  cannot  be  de- 
scribed; and  they  are  doing  more  good  than 
can  be  measured,  in  time.  Forget  them  not, 
in  your  family  devotions,  and  when  you 
meet,  in  your  commodious  sanctuaries,  to  wor- 
ship God.  They  are  following  in  the  foot- 
steps, and  continuing  the  labours  of  him  who 
came  to  seek  and  to  save  the  lost.  They  are 
preparing  the  way  of  the  Lord,  who  is  coming 
by  appointment,  to  baptize  the  nations  with 
the  Holy  Ghost.  They  are  laying  the  founda- 
tion of  Zion's  future  glory.  They  are  working 
men;  and  their  work  is  rough  and  ;  you 

will  not  leave  them  without  encouragement 


LECTURE  VII.  219 

and  support:  you  will  keep  your  children  in 
mind  of  them,  too,  by  countenancing  their 
little  contributions  and  teaching  them  to 
read  the  missionary  journals.  Your  fellow 
sinners,  who  are  sitting  in  darkness  and  the 
shadow  of  death,  have,  alsc,  strong  claims 
to  your  remembrance.  Who  maketh  you  to 
differ?  and  what  have  you,  that  you  have 
not  received?  You  have  the  gospel;  but  not 
to  keep  as  a  monopoly.  You  are  expected 
to  hold  forth  the  word  of  life,  to  sound  forth 
the  glad  tidings,  so  that  all  may  hear  and 
believe  and  be  saved.  To  whom  is  the  com- 
mand addressed,  "  Go  preach  the  gospel  to 
every  creature?"  To  the  church,  indubita- 
bly. Now,  when  God  commands,  it  is  not 
for  us  to  pause  and  inquire  whether  the  time 
is  come,  or  whether  the  gospel  will  be  re- 
ceived and  take  root  on  heathen  ground. 
Just  sow  the  seed,  and  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord 
will  see  to  the  increase.  You  hear  him  say- 
ing, "  My  word  shall  not  return  unto  me  void  ; 
it  shall  accomplish  that  whereunto  I  send  it." 
Oh  no!  your  "labour  will  not  be  in  vain  in 
the  Lord."  "Lo!  I  am  with  you  alway." 
But  your  agency,  Christians,  is  embraced  in 
the  divine  plan.    Withhold  it  not.     Your 


220  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

missions,  whether  at  home  or  abroad,  cannot 
live  and  prosper  without  your  aid.  Come 
up  to  the  work,  then,  with  faith  in  God.  Re- 
member there  is  but  one  true  gospel,  and  one 
only  Saviour.  This  gospel  is  the  power  of 
God,  and  must  prevail.  By  and  by,  it  will 
find  support  wherever  you  send  it.  It  is 
adapted  for  universal  diffusion.  To  your  Sa- 
viour are  given,  by  solemn  covenant,  the  hea- 
then for  his  inheritance,  and  the  uttermost 
parts  of  the  earth  for  his  possession.  He 
shall  see  of  the  travail  of  his  soul,  and  be 
satisfied.  All  flesh  shall  see  the  salvation  of 
our  God,  and  all  nations  shall  praise  him. 
He  shall  come  down  as  dew  on  the  tender 
herb:  even  so — come,  Lord  Jesus! 


LECTURE  Yin,  221 


LECTURE  VIII. 

RECAPITULATION  AND  INFERENCES. 

The  design  of  this  lecture,  which  will  com- 
plete the  series  on  the  external  evidences,  is 
two-fold;  First,  to  give  a  summary  view  of 
what  has  been  attempted,  in  the  course;  and 
secondly,  to  conclude  with  such  practical  re- 
marks as  are  suggested  by  the  general  argu- 
ment. 

The  summary  must  consist  of  little  more 
than  a  reference  to  the  several  topics  that 
have  been  discussed,  for  our  power  of  conden- 
sation has  been  already  taxed,  nearly  to  the 
utmost.  The  object  has  been,  you  will  re- 
collect, to  prove  that  the  Christian  religion, 
or  the  Bible,  is  a  revelation  from  God,  con- 
taining every  thing  essential  to  a  sound  re- 
ligious faith,  and  correct  moral  conduct  j  and 
that  it  is  accompanied  by  evidence,  sufficient 
to  convince  us  of  its  divine  origin  and  autho- 
rity. In  entering  upon  the  subject,  the  being 
and  natural  perfections  of  the  Creator  were 
20 


222  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

assumed,  as  exhibited,  to  some  extent,  in  the 
visible  universe,  and  its  wise  and  beneficent 
arrangements ;  and  from  the  striking  analogy 
between  the  works  of  nature,  (as  they  are 
called,)  and  the  revelations  of  the  Bible,  we 
asserted,  upon  various  considerations  sug- 
gested, that  the  God  of  nature  is  the  author 
of  the  Bible;  that  the  book  of  nature  and  that 
of  revelation  are  perfectly  harmonious  a'nd 
consistent,  so  far  as  they  keep  company;  but 
that  the  latter  goes  much  farther  than  the 
former, — making  known  things  of  intense  in- 
terest to  us,  in  our  present  imperfect  and  sin- 
ful state.  Hence  appears  the  necessity  of 
i\evelation,  as  well  for  the  honour  of  God  as 
for  the  happiness  of  man.  The  first  parents 
of  our  race  were  religious  beings;  and  were, 
undoubtedly,  favoured  with  such  knowledge 
of  divine  truth  as  was  necessary  to  the  fulfil- 
ment of  their  obligations  to  God,  to  them- 
selves, and  to  their  posterity.  But  this  pri- 
mitive revelation  being  handed  down,  pro- 
bably, by  tradition,  became,  in  process  of 
time,  adulterated,  and  ineffectual  as  a  rule  of 
duty.  Men  became  idolatrous,  ignorant,  and 
profligate  in  the  extreme.  God's  honour  and 
glory  were  trodden  under  foct  —humanity 


LECTURE  VIII.  IZo 

was  outraged,  and  thick  darkness  covered  the 
earth.  Yet,  man,  even  in  his  fallen  and  de- 
graded condition,  had  not  lost  his  religious 
susceptibility; — he  felt  his  weakness,  and 
would  lean  on  something  without  himself; — 
he  longed  for  an  efficacious  atonement,  and 
an  authorized  teacher  from  heaven.  Thus, 
there  arises  a  presumption  in  favour  of  divine 
revelation,  anterior  to  its  bestowment,  and 
before  the  sacred  oracles  are  submitted  to 
our  inspection  and  acceptance.  God  is  good : 
and  it  is  presumable,  that  he  would  renew  and 
enlarge  his  communications  of  truth  and 
mercy  to  our  fallen  and  bewildered  race,  in 
such  measure  as  would  meet  and  relieve  our 
necessities.  That  the  Almighty  Creator  could, 
if  so  disposed,  provide  for  the  relief  of  our 
helpless  misery,  none  will  deny.  And,  as 
the  case  was  extraordinary,  we  might,  rea- 
sonably, expect  that  extraordinary  means 
would  be  used  to  commend  the  provisions  of 
divine  love  to  the  reason  and  conscience  of 
mankind.  A  revelation  was  necessary,  de- 
sirable, and  possible;  felt  to  be  so  by  many 
of  the  wisest  and  best  men  of  pagan  antiquity. 
These  presumptive  indications  that  a  special 
revelation  would  be  made,  and  that  a  qualified 


224  EVIDENCES  OP  CHRISTIANITY. 

Saviour  would  be  sent  into  the  world,  in  due 
time,  gave  occasion  to  spurious  oracles  and 
false  Christs;  which,  however,  furnish  no  solid 
objection  to  the  sacred  scriptures  and  the 
true  Messiah,  inasmuch  as  the  best  things  are 
liable  to  be  counterfeited;  and  we  pointed 
out  several  criteria,  or  tests,  by  which  the 
precious  may  be  easily  distinguished  from  the 
vile,  but  which  our  limited  time  will  not  allow 
us,  here,  to  enumerate. 

We,  then,  took  up  the  Bible,  with  the  view 
of  examining  its  claims,  and  found  that  it  con- 
sisted of  two  parts,  called  the  Old  and  the 
New  Testaments,  mutually  sustaining  and  il- 
lustrating one  another;  the  whole  volume 
being  composed  of  sixty-six  distinct  pieces, 
written  by  various  authors,  who  lived  in  se- 
veral countries,  and  at  different  periods  of 
the  world,  through  the  space  of  at  least  fifteen 
hundred  years ;  yet  all  harmonizing,  wonder- 
fully, in  their  doctrines,  general  tendency,  and 
apparent  design, — the  glory  of  God  as  con- 
nected with  the  salvation  of  man.  This  har- 
mony and  unity  of  purpose  we  cannot  account 
for,  without  supposing  a  divine  interference. 
We  looked  carefully  at  the  character  of  the 
writers,  and  found  them  to  be,  for  the  most 


LECTURE  VIII.  225 

part,  plain,  uneducated  men,  but  men  of  good 
sense,  and  of  uncommon  simplicity  and  can- 
dour, revealing  their  own  personal  faults  and 
foibles,  when  there  seemed  to  be  no  occasion 
for  such  disclosures ;  thus  proving  that  they 
had  no  sinister,  selfish  end  in  view.  This 
fact  is  remarkable  in  these  writers.  It  stands 
alone ;  there  is  nothing  like  it  in  the  world. 
It  marks  their  rigid  regard  for  truth  and  ho- 
nesty, and  seems  to  demonstrate  that  the  hand 
of  the  Lord  was  upon  them  and  his  Spirit  with- 
in them.  We  examined  into  the  authenticity, 
and  integrity,  or  unadulterated  preservation 
of  these  writings,  as  we  now  have  them;  and 
found  no  reason  to  doubt  either.  The  cre- 
dibility of  the  facts  narrated,  we  have  also 
found  to  rest  on  the  same  kind  of  evidence 
that  supports  the  truth  of  other  historical 
acts,  viz:  the  testimony  of  eye-witnesses, 
handed  down,  uncontradicted  by  evidence  of 
equal  force,  and  with  the  sanction  of  succes- 
sive ages.  As  to  the  integrity,  or  unadulte- 
rated character  of  the  sacred  writings,  we 
have  every  reason  that  the  nature  of  the  case 
admits  of,  to  be  perfectly  satisfied.  They 
were  transmitted  to  us  with  great  care  and 
at  prodigious  cost,  from  the  apostolic  age. 
20* 


226  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

The  ancient  manuscripts  are  to  be  found  in 
many  of  the  principal  libraries  of  Christendom. 
We  have  numerous  codices,  and  various  ver- 
sions, collated  with  immense  labour,  and  found 
to  be  substantially  identical,  from  the  second 
century  to  the  age  of  printing ;  and,  since  then, 
they  have  been  translated,  from  the  originals, 
into  scores  of  languages,  and  are  in  the  hands 
of  all  sects  and  denominations  of  Christians, 
acting  as  checks  upon  each  other,  should  any 
attempt  be  made  to  alter  or  corrupt  the  sacred 
text.  And,  it  is  a  fact,  worthy  of  special  no- 
tice, and  put  beyond  dispute,  by  sound,  criti- 
cal comparison,  that  the  various  readings,  or 
differences  of  the  early  manuscripts,  are 
merely  verbal,  relating  to  minor  questions 
of  grammar,  and  do  not  affect  one  of  the  im- 
portant doctrines  of  the  gospel. 

The  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures,  which 
gives  them  their  peculiar  authority  and  sacred- 
ness,  has  been  attended  to,  in  the  preceding 
lectures,  and  we  have  found  it  to  be  well  sus- 
tained. It  consists  in  two  degrees  of  the  di- 
vine influences,  viz:  suggestion  and  superin- 
tendence; the  former,  in  matters  beyond  the 
reach  of  the  human  mind, — as  the  Mosaic  ac- 
count of  creation,  when  there  were  no  living 


LECTURE  VIII.  227 

witnesses  to  attest  the  fact;  the  plan  of  re- 
demption by  the  Son  of  God;  a  future  state 
of  retribution;  the  resurrection  of  the  body, 
&c.  The  latter,  (superintendence,)  in  the  se- 
lection and  recording  of  such  matters  of  fact 
and  history,  as  were  deemed  proper,  by  divine 
wisdom,  to  form  a  portion  of  the  sacred  book. 
In  this  gradation  of  divine  influence,  we  have 
had  occasion  to  admire,  as  in  many  other  in- 
stances, the  wisdom  of  God,  in  adapting  his 
measure  of  interference  to  the  exigencies  of 
each  case, — never  working  a  miracle  without 
good  reason  for  it.  The  writers  of  Scripture 
claimed  to  be  under  special  divine  guidance ; 
we,  therefore,  inspected  their  credentials,  and 
found  them  to  consist  in  a  power  to  work  mi- 
racles, and  foretell  future  events,  quite  above 
the  ability  and  sagacity  of  man.  This  mira- 
culous power,  put  forth  in  support  of  the  doc- 
trines and  facts  taught  in  the  sacred  records, 
gives  them  a  fair  title  to  our  unwavering  faith ; 
for  it  is  God's  seal  and  signet  upon  their  truth 
and  importance.  The  bad  things  said  or  done, 
occasionally,  by  the  writers  of  scripture,  are 
no  solid  objection  to  their  claims;  for  it  is 
not  pretended,  that  they  were  inspired  and 
rendered  infallible,  in  their  private  and  per- 


228  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

sonal  behaviour,  but  only  when  employed  as 
God's  amanuenses,  to  write  what  he  dictated. 

Nor  are  the  wicked  speeches  and  doings  of 
bad  men  and  evil  spirits  recorded  in  the  Bible, 
of  any  weight  against  its  inspiration;  for  such 
things  are  obviously  registered  as  matters  of 
fact,  for  the  admonition  of  mankind,  that  they 
may  see  the  fruits  of  sin,  and  shun  the  way 
of  transgressors.  One  design  of  revelation 
is,  to  show  us  the  depravity  of  our  nature, 
and  make  us  feel  our  need  of  redeeming 
grace. 

The  miracles  and  prophecies  we  have,  also, 
examined;  (we  place  them  together,  here, 
for  prophecy  is  a  miracle  of  knowledge,)  and 
have  found  the  former  so  various  and  nu- 
merous, wrought  on  so  many  subjects,  and  in 
so  open  and  public  a  manner;  and,  that  they 
were  of  such  a  nature,  and  followed  by  such 
permanent  effects,  as  to  render  deception  or 
collusion  next  to  impossible;  and,  the  latter, 
we  have  seen,  are  of  such  character — so  nu- 
merous— and,  many  of  them  fulfilled,  and 
being  fulfilled,  according  to  the  testimony  of 
historians  and  travellers,  as  to  make  unbelief, 
one  would  think,  almost  a  miracle.  In  few 
wordst  we  have  seen — we  have  proved,  may 


LECTURE  VIII.  229 

we  not  say?  that  miraculous  power,  i.  e.,  the 
power  to  suspend  or  control  the  laws  of  na- 
ture, and  prophetic  fore-knowledge,  are  of 
God;  and  are  never  imparted,  but  for  the 
maintenance  of  truth,  and  the  accomplish- 
ment of  some  great  and  good  end,  worthy 
the  Divine  Being.  Now,  that  these  ex- 
traordinary powers  were  exercised  by  Christ 
and  his  apostles,  and  by  Moses  and  the  pro- 
phets, in  proof  of  the  divine  origin  and  au- 
thority of  what  they  wrote  and  taught,  seems, 
to  our  minds,  as  clear  and  indubitable  as  any 
thing  can  be  made,  by  the  joint  and  concur- 
rent testimony  of  well  authenticated  history, 
and  monumental  witnesses,  as  we  have  them 
in  the  Christian  sacraments,  in  the  Jewish 
Passover,  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  and 
the  dispersion  of  the  Jewish  people.  How 
the  intelligent  and  honest  unbeliever  makes 
out  to  escape  the  force  of  such  testimony, 
without  setting  aside  the  received  laws  of 
evidence,  and  outraging  his  own  moral  con- 
stitution, it  is  not  for  us  to  say. 

We,  next,  proceeded  to  consider  the  propa- 
gation of  Christianity;  which,  as  is  well 
known,  was  rapid  and  wide,  beyond  a  parallel. 
Immediately,  on  the  opening  of  the  gospel 


230  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

dispensation,  three  thousand  souls  were  con- 
verted; in  a  few  days  the  number  increased 
to  five  thousand.  Within  thirty  years,  the 
gospel  had  spread  through  Judea,  Galilee, 
Samaria,  the  greater  part  of  Asia  Minor, 
Greece,  Italy,  and  the  northern  coast  of 
Africa,  as  we  learn  from  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles;  which  account  is  abundantly  con- 
firmed by  foreign  and  uninterested  writers, 
such  as  Tacitus,  Juvenal,  Pliny,  Martial,  &c. 
Tertullian  and  Origen,in  the  latter  part  of  the 
second,  and  early  in  the  third  century,  speak 
of  the  Christians,  as  filling  the  cities,  towns, 
boroughs,  islands,  the  camp,  the  forum  and  the 
senate:  and  in  the  year  312,  the  empire  of 
Rome  became  nominally  Christian.  This  rapid 
progress,  as  has  been  shown  at  some  length,  is 
very  wonderful,  considering  the  nature  of  the 
religion — so  uncompromising  to  the  sins  and 
prejudices  of  men ;  the  formidable  and  com- 
bined opposition  made  to  it;  the  weakness  of 
the  instrumentalities  used  in  its  advancement; 
the  fearful,  legalized  persecutions,  which  it 
suffered,  (ten  in  number,)  reaching  from  the 
middle  of  the  first  to  the  beginning  of  the 
fourth  century;  in  the  last  of  which,  under 
Dioclesian,  twenty  thousand  Christians  were 


LECTURE  VIII.  231 

put  to  death,  on  one  Christmas  day,  by  order 
of  the  emperor.  Yet  the  religion  triumphed 
and  prevailed,  in  despite  of  all  hinderances. 
How  will  you  account  for  this  fact  ?  Gibbon's 
five  natural  causes,  we  have  seen,  are  wholly 
inadequate.  Our  weapons,  in  this  warfare, 
were  not  carnal,  but  spiritual  and  persuasive 
— truth,  meekness,  love  and  martyrdom  were 
mighty,  through  God.  Here  is  the  cause,  the 
only  efficient  and  adequate  cause  of  the  pre- 
valence, and  continuance  of  a  religion,  which 
is  too  holy  in  its  nature,  and  heavenly  in  its 
im,  to  find  favour  from  a  world  lying  in  sin. 
How  could  Christianity  have  survived  the 
assaults  of  her  outward  foes,  seconded  by  the 
treachery  and  worldly  policy  of  her  professed 
friends,  till  this  date,  had  not  the  hand  of  the 
Lord  been  with  her,  bringing  good  out  of 
evil,  and  making  the  wrath  of  man  subserve 
the  purposes  of  his  mercy? 

Finally,  we  have  seen  the  Christian  minis- 
try, instituted  to  carry  out  the  principles  of 
d  by  divine  favour,  and 
doing  more  for  the  reformation  and  good 
order,  the  peace  and  intelligence  of  mankind, 
than  all  other  modes  of  popular  instruction, 
that  have  ever  been  devised ;  thus,  demon- 


232  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

strating  its  heavenly  origin  by  it3  wholesome 
fruits;  unfolding  the  riches  of  free  grace  to 
the  poor  of  all  climes;  pouring  the  light  of 
life  into  the  dark  places  of  the  earth;  and, 
gradually,  bringing  a  revolted  world  back  to 
God,  under  the  dominion  of  Messiah,  the 
Prince  of  peace,  and  only  Saviour  of  lost  men. 
The  preaching  of  the  word,  we  have  seen,  is 
a  method  of  instruction  wisely  adapted  to  our 
character  and  circumstances,  and  eminently 
calculated  to  make  us  wise  unto  salvation, 
and  meet  for  that  life  and  immortality  which 
the  gospel  reveals,  and  which  the  Redeemer 
exemplified  by  his  resurrection  from  the  dead. 
This  ministry  is  a  monument  of  the  truth, 
and  divine  authority  of  the  doctrines,  which 
it  is  intended  to  promote  and  perpetuate. 
The  monument  stands  upon  the  facts;  and 
facts  are  things  more  solid  and  enduring  than 
the  rocks  of  the  Alps  or  the  Andes.  Or,  to 
use  another  figure,  the  preaching  of  the  gos- 
pel, is  an  original  and  abiding  witness,  testi- 
fying to  the  peopled  world  repentance  to- 
wards God,  and  faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  as  the  way — the  only  way  to  eternal 
life.  The  ministry  of  reconciliation  is  part 
and  parcel  of  the  gospel  system ;  it  is  co-eval 


LECTURE  Till.  233 

with  it;  gives  utterance  to  its  good  tidings; 
expounds  its  meaning;  opens  its  treasures; 
urges  its  claims;  publishes  its  promises,  as 
yea  and  amen  in  Christ  Jesus,  the  chief  cor- 
ner stone  and  sure  foundation  of  a  sinner's 
hope.  In  few  words,  the  existence  of  the 
Christian  ministry  cannot  be  accounted  for 
but  upon  the  truth  of  the  gospel  narrative, 
and,  wherever  it  is  exercised  in  its  primitive 
purity  and  simplicity,  it  bears  along  with  it 
unequivocal  marks  of  a  divine  origin,  in  its 
benevolent,  peaceful  and  holy  effects. 

Now,  to  what  conclusion  do  all  these  con- 
siderations bring  us,  but  that  Jesus  is  the 
Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  and  the  Saviour  of 
the  world?  Here  are  seven  distinct  argu- 
ments for  the  truth  of  the  Christian  religion, 
not  one  of  which  has  as  yet  been  fairly  refuted ; 
seven  streams  of  light  meeting  in  the  Sun  of 
righteousness,  and  yet  we  have  not  touched, 
except  incidentally,  upon  the  internal  evi- 
dences; an  important  branch  of  the  subject, 
belonging  more  properly,  however,  to  the 
pulpit  than  to  the  press,  and  which  addresses 
itself  to  you  every  Sabbath  day,  and  as  often 
as  you  read  your  Bibles.  And  why  this  accu- 
mulation of  evidence  in  presenting  the  histo- 
21 


234  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

rical  argument?  A  tithe  of  it  would  be 
deemed  satisfactory  in  ordinary  matters.  We 
answer,  because  religion  is  founded  in  evi- 
dence; and  also  because  of  the  transcendent 
importance  of  the  inquiry.  When  the  ques- 
tion is,  Who  is  the  Saviour  of  the  soul?  and 
who  has  the  words  of  eternal  life?  the  anx- 
ious mind  is  not  easilv  satisfied.  It  demands, 
and  has  reason  to  expect,  more  evidence  than 
would  be  satisfactory  in  temporal  concerns. 
Accordingly,  the  Redeemer  claims  our  faith 
amidst  a  cloud  of  witnesses;  and  he  has  de- 
cided, that  if  we  hear  not  these,  or  are  not 
convinced  by  their  joint  and  harmonious  testi- 
mony, neither  would  ice  be  persuaded,  though 
one  rose  from  the  dead. 

We  trust  enough  has  been  said  and  proved, 
in  the  foregoing  series  of  lectures,  to  satisfy 
the  Christian  that  his  faith  is  well  founded, 
and  that  he  has  good  reasons  for  the  hope  that 
is  in  him.  If  so,  our  labour  will  not  be  in 
vain  in  the  Lord.  As  to  skeptics  and  gain- 
sayers,  we  have  had  them  in  view  also,  and  with 
deep  solicitude  and  prayer;  but  we  are  by  no 
means  sanguine  that  any  thing  that  has  been 
said,  or  that  can  be  said,  will  be  of  much  use 
to  them.    We  do  not,  indeed,  despair  of  their 


LECTURE  VIII.  235 

conviction;  for  the  grace  revealed  in  the  gos- 
pel is  free; — the  Author  and  Finisher  of  our 
faith  is  able  to  save  to  the  uttermost.  But  their 
feet  are  in  a  snare  of  their  own  net-work,  from 
which  nothing  short  of  an  extraordinary  ex- 
ertion of  redeeming  power  can  rescue  them. 
That  this  gracious  power  may  be  exercised  in 
their  favour,  is  and  will  be  our  sincere  and 
fervent  prayer: — "Father,  forgive  them;  for 
they  know  not  what  they  do  ! " 

We  are  sensible,  after  all,  that  the  argu- 
ment has  not  been  presented  on  this  occasion, 
in  its  full  strength  and  impressiveness.  Others 
in  the  same  blessed  cause,  have  done  much 
more  and  to  better  purpose.  But  we  have 
done  what  we  could,  in  a  given  time.  We 
have  cast  in  our  two  mites  for  the  furtherance 
of  God's  truth  and  nian?s  salvation.  What- 
ever of  good  may  result  from  our  feeble  ef- 
forts, will  be  through  divine  favour ;  and  to 
the  Author  of  all  good  be  the  praise  ascribed. 

There  is  an  aspect  of  this  question,  not  yet 
prominently  presented,  which  we  beg  leave 
to  submit,  in  closing  our  summary,  just  as  it 
lies  in  our  own  mind.  It  may  be  taken  as  a 
sub-summary.  Here  is  a  religion,  so  holy  in 
its  principles,  and  so  benign  in  its  influences 


236  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

that  it  could  not  have  been  got  up  by  bad  men, 
for  an  evil  purpose 5  so  stupendous  in  its  scope 
and  pretensions,  that  it  is  extremely  difficult  to 
conceive  of  its  having  originated  in  a  finite 
mind.  It  has  come  down  to  us,  moreover, 
through  such  formidable  obstacles,  that  we  can- 
not see  how  it  could  have  reached  us  without 
divine  patronage ;  and  then  it  comprises  natu- 
ral religion,  and  all  that  is  good  in  all  other  re- 
ligions known  to  the  world,  besides  its  own  pe- 
culiar provisions;  so  that  if  its  distinctive  fea- 
tures should  fail,  there  would  be  safety  in  em- 
bracing it;  whereas,  if  it  turn  out  to  be  true, 
and  true  in  all  its  peculiarities;  if  it  is,  as  it  pur- 
ports to  be,  the  only  religion  that  comprises  the 
elements  of  salvation,  for  our  apostate  world, 
there  must  be  exceeding  peril  in  rejecting  it. 
So  it  strikes  us  upon  mature  consideration; 
and  in  this  form,  we  leave  the  question  with 
you,  for  your  decision,  each  one  for  himself, 
and  on  his  personal  responsibility.  For  our- 
selves, we  have  deposited  our  immortal  in- 
terests in  the  safety -chest  of  the  gospel,  which 
contains  the  written  covenant  of  man's  re- 
demption, believing  it  to  be  the  only  thing 
of  the  kind  that  will  survive  the  fires  of  that 
day  of  the  Lord, — coming  as  a  thief  in  the 


LECTURE  Till,  237 

night, — when  the  heavens  shall  pass  away  with 
a  great  noise,  and  the  elements  shall  melt  with 
fervent  heat, — the  earth  also,  and  the  works 
that  are  therein  shall  be  burnt  up! 

But  we  promised  some  practical  remarks, 
before  we  conclude,  Several  have  been  sug- 
gested in  the  course  of  the  argument.     And, 

First  We  have  not  met  the  objections  to 
our  religion,  except  incidentally,  as  they  have 
fallen  in  our  way.  The  reason  is,  they  are 
too  numerous  to  be  noticed,  formally,  in  so 
limited  a  course.  Many  of  them,  moreover, 
are  too  puerile  and  trifling  to  deserve  any 
serious  notice.  All  that  have  any  weight,  or 
even  plausibility,  have  been  answered  and 
refuted  triumphantly,  more  than  once.  Those 
who  wish  to  see  the  answers  in  print,  will  find 
them  in  several  works,  well  known,  asd  of 
easy  access.  As  specimens,  we  recommend, 
Leland's  Review  of  the  Deistical  Writers  of 
Great  Britain,  Campbell;  on  Miracles,  in  an- 
swer to  Hume's  objections,  Keiths  on  the  Ful- 
filment of  Prophecy,  and  Watson's  Apology, 
in  answer  to  Paine's  ribaldry.  But  it  ought 
to  be  known  and  remembered,  that  not  one 
of  the  chief  works  on  the  evidences  of  Chris- 
tianity has  ever  been  answered.  Who,  as 
21* 


238  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

Bishop  Wilson  asks,  (who  is  himself  one  of 
the  ablest  among  them,)  has  answered  Lard- 
ner,  Michaelis,  Paley,  Porteus,  Thomas  H. 
Home,  or  even  the  brief  and  select  arguments 
of  Lord  Lyttleton,  and  Leslie's  Short  Method 
with  Deists?  Scores  of  other  able  defences, 
and  some  of  them  by  living  writers,  lie  in 
book-stores,  and  on  the  shelves  of  libraries 
unanswered,  little  known,  and  read  by  very 
few.  It  will  be  time  enough  to  deal  with  ob- 
jections, raised  out  of  the  antiquities  and  mys- 
teries of  our  faith,  when  its  grand  historical 
proofs  are  fairly  met,  and  candidly  considered 
by  its  adversaries.  We  respect  sound  argu- 
ment and  sober  discussion,  and  will  always 
treat  them  with  cour6esy  and  candour;  but 
we  despise  cavilling  and  ridicule:  they  are 
the  squibs  and  pop-guns  of  mischievous  boys, 
and  the  light  missiles  of  depraved  old  men. 
Fault-finding  is  an  easy,  and  therefore  a  very 
common  business;  and  ridicule  may  be  played 
off  by  any  fool  on  the  gravest  subjects  ima- 
ginable. It  is  not  the  test  of  truth — his  lord- 
ship of  Shaftesbury,  to  the  contrary  notwith- 
standing. 

2.  Our  second  remark  respects  the  unac- 
countable apathy  of  Christians,  in  regard  to 


LECTURE  VIII.  239 

the  defence  of  the  great  fundamental  princi- 
ples of  their  religion.  The  country  is  de- 
luged with  two-penny  books,  and  penny  news- 
papers, designed  to  sap  the  foundation  of  our 
best  hopes.  Paine's  Age  of  Reason  is  distri- 
buted through  the  land,  with  a  zeal  worthy 
of  a  better  cause.  Lecturers,  under  the  plau- 
sible pretext  of  reforming  society,  are  going 
to  and  fro,  preaching  radicalism,  assailing  our 
courts  of  law,  our  domestic  economy,  and  re- 
ligious institutions.  One  of  these  wandering 
stars  has  recently  mustered  courage  to  ask 
the  use  of  our  legislative  hall  at  Washington, 
that  he  may  get  at  the  heart  of  the  nation 
with  his  uprooting  and  pestiferous  notions; 
and,  what  is  yet  more  alarming  is,  that  an 
aged  and  respectable  member  of  our  house 
of  representatives  has  moved  to  grant  the  pe- 
tition. Here  is  a  man  of  gray  hairs,  and  of 
some  influence  in  his  neighbourhood,  who  has 
just  issued  from  the  press  a  furious  attack 
upon  the  Christian  Sabbath,  that  will  be  in 
the  hands,  and  at  the  hearts  of  our  reading 
youth,  ere  long,  for  its  author  and  origin 
are  close  at  hand.  Full  three-fourths  of  our 
young  men  are  practical  infidels.  You  may 
find  them  at  the  play-house,  but  not  often  in 


240  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

the  house  of  God.  Our  baptized  children  are 
attracted  by  their  easy  manners,  and  genteel 
gait:  (for  every  thing  goes  by  attraction  now- 
a-days,)  and,  what  will  be  the  consequences 
of  these  licentious  measures?  Judge  ye. 
But  what  are  we  doing  to  counteract  these 
poisonous  influences?  Why  have  we  not  lec- 
tures in  all  our  cities  and  populous  towns  on 
the  foundations  of  our  Christian  hope,  made 
attractive  by  the  best  talents  that  the  church 
can  furnish?  Where  are  the  houses  that  can 
be  had  for  such  services  on  the  appropriate 
day?  How  is  it  that  none  of  our  wealthy 
Christians,  who  give  and  bequeath  large 
sums  of  money  for  other  benevolent  institu- 
tions, never  think  of  endowing  lectureships 
for  the  maintenance  and  defence  of  the  great 
doctrines  and  facts  of  our  common  Christi- 
anity? Much  has  been  done,  and  is  now  be- 
ing done  in  Great  Britain  and  elsewhere  in 
this  way;  and  should  we  not  attempt  some- 
thing of  the  kind  ?  The  man  that  would  now 
take  the  lead  in  procuring  and  opening,  for 
the  purpose  just  named  such  rooms  as  "  The 
Musical  Fund  Hall/'  "The  Chinese  Saloon," 
or  "Concert  Hall,'7  of  Philadelphia,  would 
certainly  succeed,  and,  thus,  render  a  service 


LECTURE  VIII.  241 

to  the  cause  of  gospel  truth,  for  which  coming 
generations  would  rise  up  and  call  him  blessed. 
Something  of  this  kind  is  due  to  ourselves, 
to  our  children,  and  to  our  unbelieving  fellow- 
citizens,  that  they  may  know,  without  attach- 
ing themselves  to  any  particular  denomina- 
tion before  they  are  prepared  for  it,  the  rea- 
sons and  grounds  upon  which  we  wish  them 
to  be  Christians.  We  beg  that  this  hint  may 
not  be  lost  sight  of.     It  is  practicable. 

3.  As  a  third  remark,  we  wish  it  to  be  dis- 
tinctly understood,  that  we  do  not  believe  in 
the  power  of  external  evidence  to  convert  the 
soul  to  God,  or  inspire  it  with  the  love  of  re- 
vealed religion.  This  is  the  work  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,— the  Spirit  of  truth  and  holiness.  But 
the  outward  evidences  are  useful,  and  to  be 
used  to  prepare  the  way  of  the  Lord.  Reli- 
gion is  founded  in  evidence,  as  we  have  often 
had  occasion  to  remark.  The  heart  is  ordi- 
narily reached  through  the  understanding; 
else  its  impression  of  truth  will  not  be  deep 
and  abiding.  Religion  is  the  most  reasonable 
thing  in  the  world.  To  say,  as  some  have  said 
and  written,  that  it  cannot  bear  the  test  of 
reason,  is  a  libel  upon  its  Divine  Author,  for 
which  a  man  deserves  to  be  ecclesiastically  be- 


242  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

headed.  We  would,  therefore,  demonstrate 
the  deep  and  strong  foundations  of  the  hope 
set  before  us,  in  the  gospel,  and,  then,  send 
the  sinner,  laden  with  a  sense  of  his  obliga- 
tions, to  God  on  his  throne  of  grace,  for  a  new 
heart  and  a  right  spirit.  Such,  in  few  words, 
is  our  view  of  the  proper  place  and  use  of  the 
outward  evidences  of  our  holy  religion.  And 
this  leads  to  our  last  remark,  viz: 

4.  That  whoever  would  be  a  Christian,  in 
deed  and  in  truth,  must  go  to  God  to  be  made 
one.  To  believe  the  gospel  intelligently, 
and  to  feel  the  peace  and  bliss  of  believing, 
we  want,  not  only  evidence  which  addresses 
itself  to  the  intellect,  but  a  disposition  to  re- 
ceive the  truth  in  love,  and  abide  by  its  de- 
cisions. "  If  any  man,"  says  Christ,  "  will  do 
the  will  of  God,  he  shall  know  of  the  doc- 
trine, whether  it  be  of  God."  The  great 
hinderance  to  our  coming  to  the  Saviour,  or 
acquiescence  in  the  terms  of  the  gospel  sal- 
vation, is  an  evil  heart  of  unbelief,  departing 
from  the  living  God.  "  Except  a  man  be  born 
again,  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God. 
The  natural  man  receiveth  not  the  things  of 
the  Spirit;  neither  can  he  know  them,  because 
they  are  spiritually  discerned.'7  Faith  is  the 
gift  of  God,  i.  e.,  he  disposes  or  inclines  our 


LECTURE  VIII.  243 

hearts  to  embrace  the  truth,  as  it  is  in  Jesus; 
not  that  any  coercive  influence  is  brought  to 
bear  upon  us ;  but  we  are  made  willing  in  a 
day  of  his  gracious  power.     What  we  want 
is  to  feel  this  renovating  power.     Historical 
faith  the  devils  have,  and  yet  hate  God,  and 
say  of  his  only  begotten, "  What  have  we  to  do 
with  thee,  thou  holy  one  of  God  ?  "   How,  then, 
is  this  heart  to  believe,  to  be  obtained?     By 
prayer.     Ask,  and  ye  shall  receive.     "How 
much  more  (i.  e.,  than  parents  give  good  things 
to  their  children)  will  your  heavenly  Father 
give  the  Holy  Spirit  to  them  that  ask  him.'' 
Yes,  hearer,  you  must  have  help  of  God,  or 
you  are  undone.     If,  for  your  contempt  of 
his  truth  and  grace,  he  be  provoked  to  say  of 
you,  as  was  said  of  Ephraim,  "he  is  joined  to 
his  idols,  let  him  alone,"  you  are  lost  for  ever. 
We,  therefore,  urge  you,  in  the  bowels  of 
mercy,  to  the  throne  of  grace.    And,  as  Christ 
is  the  way,  and  the  truth,  and  the  life;  and 
you  have  no  merit  of  your  own,  we  beseech 
you  to  go  to  God,  in  his  name — his  is  "  the  only 
name,  under  heaven,  through  which  you  can 
be  saved."     But  his  blood  cleanseth  from  all 
sin:  and  "in  him,  it  hath  pleased  the  Father, 
that  all  fulness  should  dwell." 

THE   EXD. 


